Crafting and Organising

for me, being creative means a lot of mess ...i try so hard to keep the spare room/craft room
looking neat & tidy but 'its out of sight out of mind' - I need to have my things out there visible to me and within hands reach.
I look at beautiful images of craft rooms
in magazines and get totally inspired but somehow Im not sure how 'real' they are?!
here is my crafty room corner but i dare not show you the floor! haha....

a new card in the SHOP
'No place Like Home' and more
girly gift tags too!!


im home today with my boys so we're going to bake cupcakes and maybe I can fit in some craft time
(or Messing about time...)
just enjoying the last day of the Year and what a Year its been!! wonderful...i hope 2009 is even better for us all!!!

Summer in the city

we've just being lazy the past few days, its great to have some time off to chill out and not do much...ive been flicking through magazines, crafting and drawing too, trying to catch up on my Fashionable Challenges.

just finished 'A Christmas Party' sketch

I hope you all had a wonderful time - i was simply exhausted from all the eating!

i think my body needs a cleanse after New Years!

here are some Summer in the city style illustrations I did a while back....

have a FAB day everyone!

a day late but just wanted to wish you ALL a very

Merry Christmas....hope you all had a wonderful day!!

Hugs

Anastasia

* Christmas morning illustrated

by Dorothy Kuck via Flamencourt

Christmas came early....

What a lovely suprise to wake up and find a parcel at my doorstep Monday morning.
Im home today so finally got a
chance to take some photos of
the gorgeous gift from
Gracienne.
Such a kind gesture...and such lovely things.
Books and papergoods, sweets and chocolates!
Gracienne included her own handmade notecard and envelope sets...they are so adorable,
you can see her Etsy shop here.
Thanks so much Gracienne, everything is
lovely!!

"Like I give a Frock' is such a great book...

Kat Macleod's illustrations are fantastic!

very inspiring!

EyeSpy Sunday - a bit of bling!
Yesterday was Neo's 4th birthday so we had a little party last night.
a bit of bling on his birthday cake!

a bit of bling on our Christmas tree



and some bling on the
mantlepiece, I love Peter's handmade christmas ball ornament
that they made at school - so full of bling bling!



have a wonderful start to a special week everyone!
Thanks to Hoppo Bumpo
for this weeks 'Eye Spy' theme and to Cindy of BugandPop for hosting our weekly game - you can join in too!

Proud moments....

Its been on the Go! Go! Go! for me lately - I havnt had a chance to visit you all much, I miss the downtime, my quiet internet time but there's just too much to do before Christmas Day!
im sure its the same for you?!

My little Neo had his Christmas concert so I was at the Preschool all morning - so cute! adorable kids!
then i stopped at the Nut Roaster to get some goods (well worth a trip if you live in Sydney!! - everything is SO fresh) the queue was out the door, i knew it would be busy but not crazy busy!!
Ive now got some fruit simmering as I plan to make my boiled fruit Christmas cake this afternoon - the kitchen smells like caramel! Delicious!

When Andrew and I got married 9 years ago, his youngest nieces were our flower girls.

This year they both finished High School and this week they both got great marks in their HSC exams so it looks like its University for both of them next year!!

Big Congratulations Christina and Andrea, well done and the best of luck for a bright future!! exciting times ahead!

also my niece Stephanie got voted in as a Prefect as she enters 6th class next year - Im such a proud auntie!! clever girls!!

as for the top Image - just a little bit of Tim Walker to make you smile!

From an old issue of British Vogue, 'A Christmas Pantomime'

Street Style....

She wore a Raspberry Beret...the kind you find in a second hand store
(haha remember that song by Prince?)

I love looking at French street-style images...those French gals always look chic!!
I wonder if living in Paris would make you feel pressured to always look good, always be unique and super stylish?.

In Australia we're so relaxed about style...especially in Summer - loose dresses teamed with flipflops, sunnies, loads of sunblock and out the door you go!

Wouldnt it be great if the Sartorialist came down under
to shoot some street style,
I wonder what he'd think?
but its not about following trends is it - i think its all about confidence and developing a style that your comfortable with...im still working on that!

Top image by The Sartorialist

Bottom two images by GaranceDore

Eye Spy - A Burst of colour

i did some searching around the house - it was hard to focus on what stood out

but here are some white tags I made - love the texture on these!

So is white a colour?

and then there is a small watercolour floral doodle I painted years ago - i think it stands out on my neutral wall

and the sleeve of a new summer dress - i need to wear more colour, black is too safe!

i also spotted this on Flickr yesterday, now that sure is colourful!!!

have a FAB Monday everyone

and big thanks to Flossy-P for this week's topic and to Cindy for hosting EyeSpy

Sunshine

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.

~Jane Austen

After a gray, wet and cold week we have sun

again - its a bit of a stinker, very humid but hey Im not complaining!

Ive been barefoot all day, I did loads of washing and got to dry everything outside on the line, the boys have been outdoors looking for lizards, our cockatiels are happy chirping noisly,

who doesnt love the sun!?

I even started my first batch of Christmas baking - Mince Pies...next on the list are

Chocolate walnut balls!

have a happy Saturday everyone!

* White Peach and Fig Granita image from Donna Hay magazine *

6 things
Im trying so hard to get into the spirit of Christmas but must admit Im not feeling it (yet)...our tree is up, most of the gifts have been purchased and wrapped but I dont know what it is...guess Im just exhausted.
There's so much to do at work before the year is over that I come home simply shattered,
too tired to do anything...i need to write all my Christmas cards too - they've been on the table in a neat pile for days now...waiting for me (big sigh!)


the lovely Maisy tagged me for '6 things about me' but Ive done this a few times before so here are 6 things Im loving right now...


* Evian Water bottle designed by Christian Lacroix , i wonder if we stock these in Australia...pretty for the Christmas dinner table!


* Lacey party dresses - i adore lace so much that I think it deserves a post on its own!

* Christmas Cookie swap - that Martha! she always inspires me...

*thin Hammered silver bangles


*Pods (twix flavour)
warning: you cannot eat just one! impossible!



* Nerdy Chic - loving the large frame reading glasses...I had a pair very similar when I was 15 (mid 80's) but there was no way they looked that chic!

Images:
Evian Bottle from Such Pretty Things
Cookies from Martha Stewart.com
Bottom Image - from my desktop, cant remember where I saved it from?!

oh forgot to add: I made more birdy tags - they are in the shop !

Tinnie Girl Tin has arrived...

I was super lucky to have
won one of Cathy's great Tinnie Girl
tins in her giveaway two weeks ago!!
it was to celebrate her new
Tinnie Girl shop and I must say i just love the idea of having tins full of crafty supplies, what a perfect treat for yourself or for any crafty creative friend!


Look what was in mine!
everything is so gorgeous...love all the floral fabrics, they are right up my alley & the lacey vintage trim is perfect - cute buttons too!! cant wait to make something now!

Thanks SO much Cathy for being such a sweetie and an inspiration to so many of us!

Eye Spy something in my garden.....

lots of shade from my Jacarandah tree which is perfect in Summer

but its purple leaves make my

garden very messy

lucky its a pretty mess!

and I spot two cheeky boys who cant sit still to smile at mum and the camera!

we tried to take pictures of our shadows

but not much sun today...

Thanks Curlypops for this week's post and to Cindy at Bugandpop for hosting EyeSpy, anyone can join in!

speaking of gardens - I loved this idea in British SHE mag,

a simple organising tip for the shed!

Nice!

Lady Like ....Not!!

the silly season is here people!

I can feel the traffic getting worse, people were

rushing and pushing their way around

the shops today...one crazy mother had a complete melt down screaming at her hysterical toddler (gasp!! who's having the tantrum huh?)

Then I had some looney hovering behind my car, man I was peeved off - did he really think that I would drive faster by him doing that - i wasnt doing anything wrong, i was driving at the right speed but no, that wasnt enough!!

He had to drive by my side and tell me off...

well let me tell you - i was NO lady today!! I
@$#*&!!!! him right back.....and honked my

horn too! so there!

*Top image of a Lady - Vogue 1957

*Middle image of Non Lady behaviour by Ellen Von Unwerth

*Bottom image - cool calm collected drawn by me for

'A Fashionable Challenge'

A Good Mail Day...
Lucky Me!!
I won one of Vanessa's giveaways over at her blog - Im totally spoilt, look at all the fabulous postcard sets she sent me!! thanks Miss Vanessa...you're a real sweet heart - i have such wonderful blogging friends!

I had my bookbinding class

last night and we have one more week to go...its been SO good, Ive learnt so much.

We finished this lovely A5 album/scrapbook which even has protective layers on all the pages...the stitching for this was tricky as its so thick!! ( practise needed)

We also made a hard covered notebook and now we are working on repairing an old paperback book. I hope to start experimenting (time?? where can I find more time??) at home now...

I also found this free bookbinding workshop

...well she found me but Ive booked in to go...if anyone in Sydney is interseted, it sure sounds like a fun workshop!