Childrens Art Caddy

This is our Art/Games Cupboard. Not too bad now. I did a major declutter over the school holidays and have been working at getting it more organized over the past few weeks so that things are easier for the children to get in and out. I just need to put some labels on the baskets so that things go back in their right place. I've already noticed a difference in how things go back in though. Having baskets for beading, for small loose toys, for craft items, for drawing pencils etc. has made such a difference to having it just shoved in to the cupboard any which way and then me having to tidy it up every few weeks.

Still, the basket for pencils and textas and other drawing things is always, always, ALWAYS messy! Pencils get left laying around and then chewed up by the dogs. I find broken pencils in there and even though we had different containers for things, I think that just made it harder to work with for little hands.

I read a very inspiring post over at iheart organizing the other week about an art caddy found at Target. Well, believe me I have searched high and low at Target here in Australia with no success. I even got on their web site to see if I could order it online. Nope! Yesterday I went into our local Spotlight store (haberdashery/linen/kitchenware/crafts) and look what I found. It's black, it's glossy (so I don't even need to paint it) and it's enamel with a lovely handle.

Again inspired by the post at iHeart Organizing I bought some white glitter lettering stickers to stick on the sides. 

One one side I wrote the word "Imagine" to get those little creative juices happening. And on the other side the word "Create" which I must again give credit for to iHeart Organizing. I couldn't have thought of a better word that fits so nicely on an art caddy.

...and LOOK....everything fits in so nicely. Pencils, HB pencils in all different grades, (HB, 2B, 4B, 6B....Daddy has been teaching 'Little Miss' how to 'shade'), textas, glitter and gel pens, scissors and even glue. This was my midnight project since it took me that long to nicely resharpen all those colouring in pencils last night. Even Daddy sat up and helped me. So, then it was waiting and ready on our homework station for 'Little Miss' when she woke up this morning....and guess what I found her doing when I woke up? Of course! Creating!

Here's a top view. See all nice and tidy. No more lost pencils for puppies to chew on. I must admit I do like the more squarish container. It seems to fit more in. But this one will do just nicely.

I first tried this lovely daisy chain sticker but then decided on the wording instead for a childrens art caddy. However, I LOVE this look so much I think I will have to go back to Spotlight for another caddy for myself. Hmmm...sound familiar? We can't stop at one can we.

Someone was feeling a bit cuddly today and just HAD to sit on my knee while I was here blogging. Marley really is a Mummys boy.

"Hmmm..... I think it's looking pretty good Mummy don't you agree Jasper?"

"Yeah whatever! I just want to get back to watching those people waiting at the bus stop out front."

Old Things Made New

Remember this little find I wrote about last week?

Click HERE to read about it.

I picked up a lovely piece of 6mm glass today to go on top

I picked one of my cross-stitches that I've done over the years to go under the glass

Cross stitch was a hobby I started when I was just 10 years old

...and have enjoyed it ever since. Although in the last 10 years haven't had as much time to do it. Wonder why that is? Maybe the joys of motherhood. This piece has the lovely words

"Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow, Live Today"

stitched into it.

It was one of my more difficult pieces because it incorporated Hardanger as well as cross-stitch in the design. It was my first attempt at Hardanger. I'd love to try another one. It involves stitching and then cutting between the stitches.

One wrong cut and it's all over as I once found out when I tried an even more difficult piece than this. After spending countless hours on a lovely coffee table centrepiece I accidently cut the wrong stitch and created a big messy hole in it. Sadly I couldn't repair the damage and it still sits in my cross-stitch box.

..and here it is laid under the glass. The evening light doesn't really do it justice. I'll have to take another shot tomorrow in daylight.

Also, I'm still not sure whether I should paint the legs or leave them like this.

What do you think?

Winters Day at the Beach

It was a late winters afternoon at the beach...

...the air was cold and crisp as the sunlight glistened across the sea....

...like so many sparkling diamonds shimmering before they sank beneath the gentle waves...

...a lone family was building sandcastles...

...their only companions a small group of feathered friends happily walking across the shore... 

...as a sailboat sailed slowly past...

...and off into the distance...

...disappearing on the horizon and onto distant shores and adventures.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I found this very old footstool at a charity store the other day for $15. It was very ugly! very dirty! and I walked past it twice before thinking maybe I can do something with it.

I took it home and thought about it. Maybe I could strip off the paint and repaint it to fit in with the rest of our furniture and put some new fabric on top.

It was this lovely delicate flower design on the side that caught my eye at first. My son helped me rip off the fabric which was stapled onto a piece of board that just sits into a recess on top of the table. There were three!!! layers of fabric under this one, all stapled on top of each other. Each one as ugly and dirty as the layer above it. It took us an hour to get all the staples out. I don't know why the previous owners didn't think to take off the old fabric before reupholstering it.

I needed to vacuum the kitchen floor from all the dust that blew out of the underlying foam cushion. It was really disgusting. So then we set about sanding the table...

...and this is the stage we have it at the moment. I'm just wondering if it doesn't look okay like this without having to paint it over all glossy and new looking. I quite like this rustic look. My son says no, paint it Mummy, but it's starting to grow on me this way.

I thought about what type of fabric I should cover it with. My husband suggested I cover it with one of my many cross-stitches I've done. They're all sitting rolled up in a box. I had them all framed but when we renovated last year I took them down and wanted to repaint the frames a lighter colour. I think using one of them on this stool is a great idea but I don't want the cross-stitch to spoil over time if it's sitting on top of a foot stool.

I actually want this stool/table for next to my desk. I don't have enough room to put down a book or document on my desk with the laptop sitting here so have been looking for something to sit close by that I can use for that purpose. This will be perfect.

Then it dawned on me - that recess around the table that the cushion fits into is just the right height for a lovely piece of glass. I can put my cross-stitch under the glass and it will be protected and the glass will be much easier to maintain than a cushion.

What do you think?

Watch this space. I'll post the finished product soon.

Botanical Gardens

 Hmmm....so what have our family been up to again. It's school holidays here and Jasper and I have been left at home a few times this week.

They said they went to the Botanical Gardens today

How inviting that pond looks. Wouldn't we love to jump in that.

Lilly pads....sigh.....instead we had to stay home and wait....and wait...

Yum.....those native violets looks soooo yummy. All that lush green to roll around in would have been fun too. Maybe that's why they don't allow dogs in.

We can only imagine how much fun our kids had without us. They've promised to take us somewhere dog friendly soon.

Home Organizing - Household Notebook

One of my BFF's introduced me to the idea of making up a Household Notebook. We both researched different web sites and read blogs of others who have made them. It seems to be very popular over in USA, but hardly heard of here in Australia. What a great idea though. I was so excited to make one for our family. My friend has since gone to make a business out of it. They are really lovely and such a time saver once you organize everything in it. Above is a view of my own Household Notebook.

Here is her Facebook page just so you can get an idea of what is included in them.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Our-Family-Notebook/174989502556054

Each notebook includes 8 sections:

The photos I'm including are from my own HH Notebook.

Phone Directory Emergency contact details, Phone Messages,  Family and Friends, Business, Restaurants and Take-away Time Management Yearly Calendar, Monthly Calendars Things to do this week, Daily To Do List, General To Do List   (Inserting School Divider photo here for privacy reasons) Family Life Emergency Plan, Education/Child Care Details, Education Tax Rebate Record, Back to School Checklist, A place to store school/child care notes and forms, Birthdays and Anniversaries, Gift Suggestions, Emergency Grab Bag Meal Planning Weekly Menu Planner, Shopping Lists, Wine List, Pantry Inventory, Freezer Inventory Home Management Kids Chore Charts, Weekly Housekeeping, Monthly Housekeeping, Seasonal Housekeeping Vehicle Maintenance Schedule/Repairs, Party Planner Online Passwords, Home Decorating Ideas Money and Finance Household Bills – weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, Insurance Details, Services/Utilities Record, Warranty Information Health and Fitness Medical Information, Prescriptions and Medications, Medical Expenses, Immunization Record Medical Insurance, Pet Information Travel and Leisure Recommendations – movies to hire, books to read, places to visit, websites, Family Activity Planner, Travel Ideas, Discount Coupons and Vouchers I've been using mine for about two months now and still need to get around to filling in all the details. I love using my Daily Planners and To Do Lists and having a School section for the kids with all the contact details, tuck shop menu, excursion details etc. is such a help during the school week. Everything is at my fingertips now. No more searching different rooms for phone numbers, insurance details or medical information. Having a family emergency plan is so important too. Especially after all the life threatening disasters that have hit our country this year, bush fires, floods, cyclones... we've been very fortunate to be one of the only places in Australia that escaped any disaster this year. But, I want to be more prepared for anything that might come along in the future. Having a Household Notebook that you can take and run with is a wonderful idea. It will contain all our emergency information, insurance details, warranties etc. (when I eventually schedule some time in to finish putting it all together of course. It's a work in progress). Of course there is and entire Pet section for Marley and Jasper containing all their vet information, immunization details, pet sitter notes, allergies. Today I started working on making up similar folders to keep all the childrens school work. It will have separate dividers for each school year. I already have folders for their report cards, certificates, school photos and special work, but they're not big enough to keep a sample of each years school work.

Sydney - Part 2

On the second stage of our Sydney holiday we spent a day down on the NSW south coast at Stanwell Tops and Austinmer, just a few kilometres north of Wollongong.

This bridge we were told was built a few years ago and sits just off the coast away from the cliff face. The cliff would sometimes erode and the road that used to be there became dangerous for cars to travel on.

We spent an hour watching the parasailers preparing themselves for take off.

Waiting for the wind to be just right and then....

....lift the parasail into the ready position before... 

...taking a running leap of the edge of a CLIFF!!! Are they for real?

Apparently so...

It's a regular weekend feature at Stanwell Park.

There are parasailing hire companies camped there ready to teach you how to jump for fun!

Next for lift off were the hang gliders.

These parasailers glided down slowly to the sea shore.

Down to that park you can see mid right of this photo. That open sandy section is corded off like an airstrip for safe landing.

Last minute instructions before take off.

The ocean was rough this day so we didn't plan on swimming.

We finished the morning with a leisurely walk along the beach at Stanwell Park.

We found these bright purple shells. Sadly we had to throw them away as they smelt awful. The purple colour comes from a dye that the creature inhabiting the shell excretes. Once the creature has abandoned its' shell home it dries out in the sun and turns white like so many other common shells on the beach.

This friendly little crab didn't mind being held for a moment but soon tried to jump to freedom again.

The cliff face was so interesting with all it's patterns caused by years of waves crashing against the rocks. 

It reminded us of the paintings done by the indigenous peoples of Australia.

Love listening to the waves as they coming crashing in...

...on the jagged rocks!

We meandered in and out of the coast to see what we could discover.

Sadly our wandering ended behind these rocks where we discovered a drowned puppy. We don't know how he got there but seemed to have been washed up with the tide. 'Little Miss' was very distressed and we decided to leave this beach for one further south.

At Austinmer Beach we discovered a swimming pool that has been built into the sea shore. People come each day to swim laps. Some of us had a refreshing swim after a lovely seafood lunch on the beach.

...and then headed back to our accomodation for the night.

Next post: The Blue Mountains.