Another Year Passing By

As another year passes quickly by, it reminds me of my goal each year to become more organised around the home.

(Pile of magazines needing culling)
Life seems to overwhelm me sometimes and the clutter around me doesn’t make me feel any better.

(Where to start?? – June 2011) – (Love the look)

(Scrap box before)
This year, I believe, I achieved a lot in the organisation department.  Thanks to my friend, Shirley, we got into the sewing room where she introduced me to the plastic box.  Not that I didn’t know about them, I just didn’t know where to start with the sorting.  She had some great ideas and I am still working on amalgamating all of the stuff into their respective categories.

(Boss Shirley)

(Some progress)
Each year I start with the idea of disposing of an item a day and this has worked very well.  It usually fizzles out, so I have kicked it off again – right now!  I have discovered this website “The Organised Housekeeper” and she has the de-cluttering 52 week challenge right HERE, which I am gong to attempt to follow.  (Hope it goes better than the TAST challenge LOL).  Of course, we have planned trips once again for 2013, so I will have to double up some weeks to achieve the goal.

During the past couple of years I have made some of these embroidered felt pin cushions which I was going to sell at our exhibition.  When I showed a friend, she bought the lot and I didn’t get around to making any more.  Shirley has gifted me some of her embroidery wool ‘double ups’ and I have made a few more since, and intend to make some more. 

This past Sunday was our precious little princess’ 4th birthday.  Where did that time go?  Of course, being a princess, she wanted a princess party.

The princess and her princess cake her Mummy made.

Princess Lilian with her new Doctor’s set – she loves playing doctors and calls her cubby house her “Goctor’s Office”

Princess Lilian in her tiara.

Off to the Tropics

It is almost winter here, although this past week one could be forgiven for thinking winter has already arrived.
So, in just four days time we are escaping to tropical North Queensland where temperatures are up around 28 deg during the day and a mild 15 – 20 overnight. 

This will be our ‘digs’ for about a month or so.  Those little steps lead up to the boudoir.  The kitchen area is at the back of this.  Sink and gas stove and pantry.    It doesn’t look very big in this photo, but believe me, there is plenty of room and storage.  The whole thing folds up and sits on the back of the truck and then you can go anywhere a 4wd vehicle can go.  We love to head into the bush and off the beaten tracks, so this will be ideal.  We are travelling with 2 other couples so it should be a real hoot!!
This particular set up is called a ‘Travelander’ and if you are interested, you can see more of their features here at this website.
We will miss our little poppet, Lilian. 
Here she is at her cubby house which is currently in our back yard. Her great grandpa bought her this.  She is the apple of his eye – his only great grandchild…… so far.

Nothing to show for TAST this week yet.  It may be finished by tomorrow if I can get a good go at it tonight in front of television.

Playing

Wednesday was a play day.  It was ANZAC day and a public holiday here.  As our daughter was working at the race track we had the wonderful opportunity of spending most of the day with our adorable grand daughter, Lilian.
Before Lilian arrived I was painting and stamping fabrics.
  
It was just calico fabric which I wet and crumpled then painted with acrylic paint while wet. (The colours look ugly here, but really, some of them were quite pretty.
After it dried I got the moulding stamp out to do some stamping – also with acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium.

The basket weaving stamping

Potato masher stamping. 

After re-heating, the stamp comes back to normal.  I used the toaster to heat and re-heat my stamp.
All in all it worked out okay but the stamp has to be very indented so as the relief parts stamp well.
Lessons were learned.

Then it was Lilian’s turn to paint. 

Then we did some bare foot cooking. Pumpkin scones.