Last chance for the giveaway - leave a comment to win!! My gorgeous new plate rack, and other home pics..

As you know we have been doing a few renos and alot of painting... I don't have many pics yet, but I thought I would share a few anyway!!

Our son the rock star made Mr Deekie Belle and I this plate rack for our 25th wedding anniversary present - I love, love, love it!!!

Although he probably made it just for me as Mr Deekie Belle doesn't collect pretty little floral teacups and other such finery....:)!

Anyway, didn't he do a great job! I am so happy !!! And he said if anyone likes it he is taking orders...

Hall table

New Lamp

New picture over sofa, I like it much better!

Lots more to share when I can get some daytime photos, and this week I will be drawing the winner of the Amy butler fabric and the the personalised pastel pillow!! Please leave as many comments as you like, one on every post if you like cause you will get one entry for each comment!!

A Mum's Prize!!:

And for a lucky little princess!

Hope you are all well and that this swine flu hasn't hit any of you, please take care and I will be back soon!

Hugs

Jenxoxoxoxo

Please excuse my absence....

Hello lovely friends,
Please excuse my lack of posts, things here have been crazy but I will be back soon with much to share and also to announce the winner of my pastel pillow - don't forget to comment if you would like a chance to win!


hugs
Jen

Deekie is going to marry her best friend!!

Our Darling daughter te songstress is getting married to her wonderful boyfriend the sports fan!!

He took her on a mystery adventure which started at the beginning of the week and ended this morning when he took her to her favorite look-out in Bunbury, dropped to one knee, said a pile of amazing things about how he couldn't imagine his life without her yada, yada, yada, (cue the most romantic things a guy could ever say!! ....truly, he is that good!) ) and proposed with a beautiful  diamond engagement ring .....nice! . Very romantic!!

We love you guys so much! and we know that God has a wonderful plan for your life and He is looking forward to blessing you in every part of your marriage with his amazing love! Love Mama and Daddy

Hugs

Jen xoxoxox

Happy Fourth of July...

Happy 'Fourth of July' to all my lovely friends in America..

Wow, I can't believe it is July already... the year is nearly half over! Is it me or does time seem to go faster the older we get...

Anyway, I have been working on this lap quilt for my Mama, I have sewn the blocks together and hope to have it finished his week.. I used the new Joel Dewberry fabrics I bought recently, in the Azure colourways. It still needs the border sewn on but just wanted to post a sneak peek. I do love this pattern, It is the "Mod Scallops" by Mary Bird from Homespun Workshops in Willagee here in Perth.


I also bought these super cute trims from Farbenmix. Aren't they adorable! (Sorry the picture is so bright)



The Rock Star has been on holidays from studies for the past two weeks and has been here painting for us. I wanted to change the colour we used in the kitchen/dining. We only did it about a year ago but I have never been happy with it so we went a couple of shades lighter. The new colour is called 'Portico' by Dulux and I like it alot better. It has a very slight greenish tint in it as opposed to the previous colour which I always said was too 'minty', ...if walls can be minty.. :)! Anyway he has done the kitchen, dining, front and back passages, laundry and the first bathroom. (He has worked so hard!) My darling hubby chose the colour for the bathroom and it is really different from our usual taste, it is a rich brown and I am not sure if I like it - (poor Steve, I hope it grows on me or he will be re-doing it!, oohh it's okay, I'm not a slave driver, I'm paying him:)!) Anyway, I will try and get a good shot of it and post it soon and you can let me know what you think.



The songstress bought Mr Deekie Belle and I this giant Freckle as part of our Anniversary present, I don't think we will ever finish it - it's huge!

And just before I go, something to make you smile! We went to the country a few weekends ago and my darling youngest daughter wanted to take her own car. Mr Deekie Belle and I had quite a laugh when when she emerged from her car to fill it with fuel in one of his old singlets, her shabby pink dressing gown (it was night time) and her bright pink heart slippers..... although we weren't laughing as much as she walked towards our car.. I slunk down and tried to hide lol!.. but of course she needed money for fuel, should have known! She will be 18 in a month and I can't see her changing a bit!! 

 My precious baby girl!

(And that singlet - who remembers that song, 'I'm to sexy for my shirt!' !!),

Anyway, sorry about the long post - I hope you are all really well and happy, and I will have more to post this week!

God Bless!

Hugs

Jen

PS.... Don't forget everyone, all comments from any post go in the draw for the Amy Butler half yards and the "Don't Look Now" Personalised Pastel pillow... ooohhh, the PPP :)

25 years of silvery joy....

Today Mr Deekie Belle and I celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary, 25 years of ups and downs, joy and tears, laughter and pain, and ins and outs. But mostly wonderful days and nights filled with laughter and love,Thank you for sharing your dreams with me, for putting up with my endless singing, my bad moods, my overspending, my cooking experiments, my fabric obsession, You are my joy, my love, my life - Thank you.




.........I love you more..................
hugs
Jen

I forgot the Mum's giveaway!

I forgot to post a pic of the giveaway for the mums, which will be drawn - A set of half yards of Amy Butler fabric! Don't forget to comment if you would like to win!



Jenxo

Blog award from a sweet friend.. and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

I have received a blog award from Mary Jane of Sweet Emmelie Thank you gorgeous girl!



I in turn would like to nominate 7 wonderful blogs for this award!

Elaine from Tinker Verve.
Kellie fom Don't Look Now!,
Autum from Creative Little Daisy.
Niki from Keeping Up With The Joneses
Vicki from French Essence
Jen from Approximately None

As I was writing a personal note on why I had nominated each of these girls I found that I was repeating myself over and over - so I will say it just once.

Each one of these ladies inspires and teaches me each day. Their incredible talents makes me aspire to do more, and make me believe that I can! Their love of family makes me truly want to be a better Mama and Nana. They are each a blessing in my life and I am so glad that I have been fortunate enough to be invited into theirs.
I send love and hugs to you all!


hugs
Jen xo

PS - Don't forget my giveaway, leave a comment and you can win one of these!

My poor neglected blog, and finally the giveaway

I feel like I am always apologising for being away! I can't believe nearly a week has flown by without a post..

Angel started back at work part time so I have been busy with this little bundle of heaven, just look at that smile, and those eyes, and those chubby cheeks oooooohhhhh!


Also, I received my super sweet giveaway from the lovely TinkerVerve, Thank you so much Elaine, I love the book!... and of course I loooove the charm :)!!!


Got some new fabric from Joel Dewberry - yum!! Have made a quilt top with the stuff on the left, so only the right to do!!
Will post my quilt tops soon!!!



and finally ,as promised, a new giveaway!!

YAAAYYYY!

I would like to make one of these gorgeous pastel appliqued cushions for the winner, with the letter of your choice in the middle!! These cushions are of course made using applique pattern's by the uuber-talented, and super nice Kellie from Don't Look Now!


I just love Kellie's work, it inspires me so much - And get this bloggers, she is such a nice lady, as busy as she is, making her amazing quilts which are featured in all the best magazines, she still takes the time to email you when you leave her a comment or ask her a question! And trust me, she gets heaps and heaps of comments and questions on every post... I have been blogging for a while and she is easily the the loveliest designer on here.

ANYWAY BACK TO THE GIVEAWAY!. Leave a comment on this post, or the next post or the one after that.... basically all comments till the end of the draw will go in the draw and the first name name picked will win - we will use the old style of pulling a name out of a hat I think!:)

Here's the kicker - there will be a second prize in this draw and this giveaway, and it is something for the mums, something for the mums who can sew - can you guess what is it??!! I will post a pic of it tomorrow!
Big Hugz
Jenny

From my front yard....

My darling arrived home from work the other morning just as the sun was rising through the trees after a rainstorm. He quickly snapped these on his phone from the front garden... There are few things as gorgeous as the tranquil beauty of the Aussie bush. I hope you like them...






I have done 20 of my blocks for my first quilt - 16 to go! The pattern is Mod Scallops by Mary Bird using Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric. I can't wait to get it finished!



I will be posting another giveaway tomorrow, so stay tuned and have a great night!
Hugs
Jen

I love my husband more than my new sunglasses.....

I went shopping with Songstress on Saturday and came home with these. On the way home in the car I began feeling quite guilty and started to worry a little about what Mr Deekie Belle would say about my extremely extravagant purchase....

He smiled and said they look gorgeous. I just love him so much!!!

Hugs

Jen xo

Been busy - stay tuned for another giveaway!!

Just a very quick post, the rain has come again and I have been a busy little bee, made a tote with my favorite Heather Bailey fabric. Will be offering this one for sale in my Etsy shop,

Then I made my girls an appliqued cushion each, both in pastel tones

I will be posting a new giveaway this week so stay tuned.... perhaps a pillow like I made for the girls :)....

Off to the songstress's place now but will be back soon with the details!

Hugs

Jenny xoxox

Not getting much done....

Well, cold and flu season is certainly here and I have had a lovely dose. 

 Still feeling yuk so have not got anything done in the last few days but last week I made a knitting bag for mum using her old knitting bag handles. I loved the bag that used to belong with these, it was a pale pink linen, so gorgeous and so vintage! It fell apart a few years ago and mum saved the handles, I snaffled them from her walk in robe when she was away in England and finally decided on this Heather Bailey fabric - I love Heather's fabrics and am particularly fond of this print. Mum loves her new bag so it was definately a good choice.

I also made these potholders for my best friend Cherie. I love the damask fabric I used on the larger holders, it is part of the Manzanita Collection from Joel Dewberry. This is the first lot of Joel's fabric I have ever bought and have to say it is wonderful to work with. He has a gorgeous new range out and I am loving the persimmon palette, it's so pretty! I will definately be buying more of his fabric ! Still need to finish a table runner and some cushions for Cherie so must get to work!

Lastly, I snapped this last night, it is my darling hubby, Mr Deekie Belle, with our beautiful grandbaby. I can't believe the bug is 3 months old, time really does fly!

Hugz

Jenny xxoo

And the winner is.......

Sorry that this draw is a day late, I have been a little under the weather! Thank you to everyone who entered for your kind comments. I used Random.org again to find the winner of my giveaway, and according to the result it is comment number "4", which is Louisa!

........................................................

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

4
Timestamp: 2009-05-30 16:41:54 UTC

........................................................

Congratulation Louisa!, I will be popping over to your blog in a sec to let you know the news!

Next giveaway will be posted tomorrow!

Hugs
Jen

A little behind...

I will be drawing the winner of the my Summer Bag on Friday so if you know anyone else who might like to enter please let them know quickly!!

Lastly, I just wanted to post a quick pic of the mirror the songstress bought me for Mothers day...

Have a great week, and hugs to you all!
Jen xoxox

The smells of winter....

I am a "Smell" person. Most of my memories of people or things involve some sort of smell. Little things like every time I walk past a pub I am transported back to 1972 to the good ship SS Orsova where our family spent 6 weeks travelling across the ocean from Canada to Australia. The smell of coconut takes me to my teen years when we spent every waking moment at the beach completely covered in suntan oil. The smell of pipe tobacco reminds me of my grandfather... Lavender reminds me of my sweet Aunty Joan ... I could go on..

One of the things I love about winter is all the different smells. The smell of rain completely relaxes me, I absolutely love it. My family's favorite winter smell is of a huge pot of stew or soup bubbling on the stove. I decided this year to get myself a pressure cooker. I have never used one before, but I have been doing a bit of research and was really impressed that they can cook a soup or a stew in about 40 minutes. I do tend to get a little over excited when it comes to appliances but this time I have reason to be! This little sucker is probably one of the best things I have ever bought.


I got some lamb shoulder from Woolies and browned it in a little oil with some onion. I then added some fresh mint, chicken stock and honey - cooked it for 15 minutes then added some spuds, carrot, peas and corn cooked for another 20 minutes and wallah! "45 minute Honey-mint Irish Stew" (... yeah, I am better at making up recipes than I am at making up recipe names!) The lamb just melted in our mouths and it was so full of flavour and so moist and tender.

And all those stories about them being hard to use was rubbish! The new ones are a piece of cake! It was a bit pricey, even though I got it on sale, but I am sure it will pay for itself ïn no time. You can use cheaper cuts of meat as they tenderise really quickly and it will definately cut down the gas bill.

Here are some of my other favorite smells. My little collection of 'parfum'. I loooove perfume, it is my guilty pleasure. I have been wearing Ysatis by Givenchy since 1987, and my kids always tell me that is the smell that always reminds them of me... a few of my other absolute favorites are Hypnose by Lancome, Midnight Poison by Dior, Agent Provocateur's Maitresse, Happy Spirit by Chopard. A new favorite that Doug bought me for Easter is Calvin Klein's Euphoria... And I know, for shame, I have two bottles of 'Miami Glow' by JLo.... Aaaahhh, I can't help it, it is a gorgeous, beachy, summery, fruity, coconutty bottle of yumm!! ....It isn't available any more so I also have a stash of it in my drawer :)!!!!



Last but not least a picture of my new little 'ladder shelf' - isn't it cute! I put it next to the new mirror that the kids got me for mother's day. Like I need any more shelves for any more stuff :)!



Hope you are all well, will be back soon!
Hugz
Jenxoxoxoxoxox

Need sleep!

Need to do a post on a few things, including 'smell' but I am too tired - will do it tomorrow.
Goodnight all
hugs
Jen

Chase the Lion

The Lion Chaser’s Manifesto by Mark Batterson
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!
...............................................................

I read this on my lovely friend Tinker's blog. Normally when I find something like this that speaks to my heart I like to re-write the points that affect me the most.. with this I would just have to re-write the whole thing.. I keep reading it over and over, it inspires me... I hope it inspires you.

...............................................................

Also, I won Tinker's giveaway ....:)!! I am so excited!, I never win anything!! It is a book called "The Twelve Teas of Friendship". And anyone who knows me knows there is nothing I love more than a new book!
Thank you Tinker !!
Isn't she gorgeous!

Hugs
Jen xxoo

just to say....

I am working through a few emotional issues which I need to do before I finish what happened 29 years ago. I will have a new post in the next day or so... Thanks for your understanding and even more your patience. You have all been so supportive it has been amazing...
bless you all.
Hugs
Jennyy

I am having another bloggy giveaway!!!

I adapted this bag from the Anna Maria Horner pattern 'I'll Have One of Everything'. I used Paula Prass Flights of Fancy fabric and I think it turned out quite summery and cute. Sorry the picture is a little dark, will try and do another one tomorrow in the daylight. Hope you like it! Please leave a comment if you would like to own it!






... and a little grandson update,
I bought the bug one of the old style bouncers because I remember how much our kids loved theirs when they were little. After we got home I worried that perhaps I should have gotten him one of the newer fancier ones with all the bells and whistles.. oh well, he does seem to like it...



Hugs
Jenxxxxx

Lila Tueller Retro 'Groovy' Bag

I made this lovely bag for my daughter the glamour girl from the Lila Tueller Retro 'Groovy'Bag pattern and I love it - gonna make more in different fabrics!



Hugs
Jen