Another day - another box

 A purple velvet box with bling.

vintage lace

 I bought this gorgeous lace from the salvos today.  I think it is handmade but I don't know a lot about lace.  It is very fine and quite beautiful.

sketch box

Well this is a productive week so far.  I have managed to paint more window frames and clear out our storage area.  Having off site storage is very handy but you keep so much junk!

Anyway tonight I have spent some more time on the box that I started a few weeks ago.

It is done now. 

I think.  

I hope. 
 
This will be great to hold a small sketch book and pencils.

I have another box on its way already so that will be tomorrow night's project.

In the meantime two of my grandkids are blogging.
Matthew here 
and Ally here

Buttons and beads

 There hasn't been too much time for stitching lately but I have been working on a new brooch whenever I had a spare moment.

 The background is calico which I have dyed some time ago.

It is a lovely soft green .  Some of the pics look as if it is pink but it is just the lighting.

 I started off with tiny green seed beeds, just wandering around on the fabric, then some silk ribbon stitches in a soft mauve surround a green crystal slide.  Tear drop shaped glass beads catch the light.

Add caption

 More beads and lots of french knots and long and short stitch filled in lots of space.

Then some more stitching.





Damp stretching on a cork board overnight.

I find this damp stretching is such a great way to finish off a piece of work and pull it into place.

Then the finishing touch.







 

 
 Fitting it on the button as well as can be done.

It fits beautifully snug and smooth.

Photoshopping Fruit.

From the kitchen bench.

Photoshopping for fun.

Talking Food

 I haven't been doing much in the way of creative projects lately: I have been painting the laundry and the back door.
The weather has turned really cold and we have had rain and hail over the past few days'

This cold weather can be challenging as far as eating is concerned.  

Today I went to Tully's for fresh fruit and vegies, meat and fish.



We really are spoilt for choice here.  Most of the produce is grown nearby - all is grown in Australia except the cherries which came from the USA.  Our cherry season is well and truly finished.

 
I decided to try something different so bought a tamarillo and a persimmon.  I have not tried these before but I am sure they will be delicious.




The little pot of parsley means I can have some whenever I want and it looks gorgeous in the glass bowl with tumbled glass pieces.

 Yesterday my husband, Mike and I went into the city, Melbourne, for lunch and to go to a special event.  Our local radio station had a bit of a meet and greet and tickets to the Hollywood Costumes exhibition.  It was held at ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) at Federation Square for more information check out this link.

The pics in the collage are taken inside Federation Square and out through the windows into Flinders Street.
It is such an interesting building and contrasts with some of our original city buildings and the trams.

The costume exhibition was fantastic.  Such fabulous clothes that we could see up close.  I intend to go back for a second look and I hope it wont be so crowded.
 

 Because Mike was driving I was able to take some pics on the way home.  Close to the city we have fantastic sporting arenas.  The MCG, host to famous cricket games and the tennis centre where the Australian Tennis Open is held each summer.  Most recently we have added a stadium where rugby and some soccer games are held.

 




 Our city and surrounds are a great combination of old and new.

We have a fantastic road system and even though it takes more than an hour for us to drive to the city we do so in comfort and safety.

Vintage lace and recyclied glass

I have had a lovely day today: it has been cold and damp but the sun was out this afternoon.

Some weeks ago I bought this gorgeous vintage wedding gown from Vinnies.  Whenever I go op shopping I check out the wedding gowns and formal clothes in case I come across any special lace or beads.  In this case I admired this dress on the store manequin for weeks and didn't dare ask the price.  When I finally went back I found the price was reasonable and the veil and gloves were included.

I will offer it for sale on ebay I think.  It is too beautiful to cut up.

 The other thing that has occupied me today (instead of the washing and cleaning) has been a product my son-in-law has started to sell.  

It is recycled, coloured, tumbled glass.  This works for me on three levels: recycling is so important to our environment, the colours are so vibrant, and it is glass.  I have always loved glass; whether it is a stained glass window, an acid etched wine glass or the bowl of marbles on the dining table.  


 I thought it would be fun to see what this glass can be used for.

Because it is tumbled it does not have sharp edges so it is easy to work with.

In the little fish tank it looks wonderful under the water.

Next I decided to try out some candles (led battery operated candles are such fun to use) in a tumbler, a wine glass and a candle holder.  I do think they would look great on a party table. 

Add caption

The last idea was to fill the top of a pot of lavender: I think it looks fine.  I am going to use some in red on some pots outside to go with my red steps but I wanted to see how it looks in this small pot first.

This is a start up business for Brent and I am hoping it will be a success.  If you want to take a look he has a website here.

I have been sorting through my photos on the computer and it is great to recall the fun times.

During the recent school holidays my daughter Bec called in to pick me up and we set off to Sorrento for a picnic with  Ally, Michael and Matty.   Check out a bit more about Sorrento here.

The weather was a bit cool so the young ones decided to picnic in the back of their car.  We were near the ferry terminal and could see people setting off to Queenscliffe some on foot and others taking their car.  Matty enjoyed a run along the sand and in the shallows too.

It was a lovely relaxing day: we are lucky in having great roads which means the trip from my home was about 1 hour.   Bec had to drive for about 45 minutes to pick me up so I did the driving to Sorrento and back.

It is such a treat to spend some time with family.

Don't forget to check  Ally's blog She has some great photos on there.