just bead it..

someone had kindly given me a beaded necklace.. but it was a little long and not really me.. sometime ago.. i purchased some lovely squares and stitched them into a row.. ( i think i had visions of a trim for a skirt). It didn't happen. Yesterday after a fair bit of day one holiday lounging i had a vision of a project..

covering the beads with scraps of fabric (yes emma, like little puddings!) i then reused the string and alternated the beads..

stitched the fabric rows in half, turned right sides out and stitched onto the ends. VOILA!
a summer necklace.. now all we need is a few degrees to actually feel like it..

morning walk

So Sunday morning. Our kids are nearly 14, (yes, twins - in case you've just popped in). I tell you that so you can appreciate that the house is fairly quiet in the mornings, particularly on a weekend. That means i have time to get up have a read, and contemplate the day - which is lovely. Sometimes i can even venture out for a walk and still make it back before they emerge. (Yes, there was lots of groaning - by us in those early years -up at those early hours). But now.. I'm out walking.. playground free...

the hour i spend each way commuting to work each day, is well worth the 10 minute drive to the beach on weekends. The iphone is such a handy item to have, don't you find? As i wandered around and took 4 'random' shots, i returned home to see they fitted perfectly side by side.

And while wandering around was pleasant enough, i find taking 'snap shots' makes me feel like i've 'done something, but also forces me to stop and pause for a moment. To appreciate something or think about it - just for a little bit. As these days it's so easy to let everything 'scroll' on by isn't it?

And the bead goes on..

last weekend i had my 'beady' little eyes on some fimo.. i sat at this desk for errr.. several hours..


i rolled.. and rolled...
and baked.. all i had was some black cord..



after a few days my chain arrived... and i could do more..


human bead machine that i was... then it was back to work for those last 5 days of the year..

Now. It's holidays.. I reacquainted myself with the couch for a bit.. which was lovely..
hope you're ready to embrace the festive season with open arms..

break it down.. break it down..

So this time of year is made slightly more manageable by breaking down all the tasks into little chunks..
this weekend was my decoration chunk. Last year i did 'eco' sprayed silver garden twigs. Miss R declared that was a 'fail' due to nowhere to 'put the presents under'. So this year i started again. Let's face it - tree technology has come along (much like the prams now available) in the last 13 years... I quite liked this new fashioned plastic.. sadly my 13 year old lights were also not up to scratch. "really, this is all you have left?" i asked the man at the local hardware shop. How can tree lights be all gone by Dec 3? Did i miss something? Clearly i did.
Anyway, i decided that i would have to cope with the coloured LED rather than white, positive that i couldn't live with ALL blue. (These ones have about 7 modes)
THEN i cut up some of the doilies that appear to have amassed in the shed and stitched them with the flouro thread i was (st)itching to use. Polli's Christmas garland added a nice fresh touch.
There was much talk about where the tree would be positioned.. this time it's in the kitchen - the wall behind it is a sliding wall - so we can also enjoy it from the lounge room.. versatile.



Meanwhile.. the backroom - needed a different feel - i added some paper balls to last years 'pouffy' white ones..
and added some super little felt balls to the tree (which usually sits on the sideboard)..
How cute is this melting snowman? A little bit of putty and plastic add ons and watch him melt..
So that went reasonably well... now for the weather - as today was wet and windy - not that summer light at all... how are your 'chunks' going?