Come and Play - Stuffed Pine Cones

I made this padded pine cone the other day, I remember making something like this as a kid at school.  I just wanted to sit and play, so this is what I did.

The finished result

You need a pine cone that's a bit old with lots of open claws.

 This is how I did it

Scraps of material, needle, thread, scissors and wadding, or you could be just a little bit fancy and put potpourri into each circle.
Now that's not a bad idea!!

Cut enough circles to fill the pine cone

Sew a running thread around the circle

Add some wadding or pot pourri if you prefer

Gather up the running thread and secure to make a little ball

Push the balls in tight and move or break the pine claws to make more room

You're done, a bunch of these in a basket look great, small ones make great christmas decorations and it took less than hour, but hey it might keep the kids quiet if you put them to the task

Chocolate Anyone?

I'm constantly amazed at the strange containers I collect to hold all my precious bits and pieces.  This is an old Cadbury Chocolate box, have no idea how old.  A hand me down from my mother-in-law.  She has so many of this kind of stuff around her place and when she asked me if I could use it, well it's a silly question really. I love it.

Washing Day - Hanging it out to dry!

"Give me the inspiration to be what I was before I became all the other things I’ve been"  (Chris Kemp 2011)

It’s time to talk about why I want to be a blogger.  I can say it’s not because I want to share how many latte’s I drink a day, or how the dog ate my recent post.  Nope, none of that rubbish.  If that were the case I’d have lost any readers 10 seconds ago, in fact I’d have lost me.  Since I have no followers and that’s because my blog is still an infant, I’m going to interview myself - because I can.

Me:        Christine, tell my why you decided to start a blog?

Me:        I did everything back to front and the blog morphed because I created a website about a passion of mine which is CRAFT, because I needed to do something to keep my brain active.  The website came about because some wonderful American salesman named Jess; convinced me that his company’s website tools and training would make me money within a week.

Me:        Would you say you are gullible?

Me:        Yes and No.  Firstly I’m currently unemployed; I had a lot of self-doubt and no confidence because of that situation.  Money was not the motivator.  I new I could bring some really savvy IT skills to the table.  So, whilst Jess conned me with his excellent sales pitch, the spin was actually what I wanted to do.

Me:        You said you did everything ‘back to front’.  Can you tell us what you mean by that?

Me:        In the real world the craft comes first.  A person has one or two areas of craftsmanship that they work at with flair and passion.  This produces a product which they then have the option to sell, teach, give away or promote in a way that pleases them.  In this day and age, the web is a crafters paradise.  A blog can promote them and their product if they wish, they can give it away or sell it or display their work how they like.  They develop a following over time.  This often leads to a website, which can lead to an on-line business.  I started with the website, then a blog and embarrassingly I’m still looking for the craft to go with it and the followers.  I’m the horse chasing the cart.

Me:        Is there a great disadvantage in what you’ve done?

Me:        Yes.  Apart from wasting time, I’m missing opportunities.

Me:        If you could do it all again, what would you do?

Me:        That’s an interesting question.  I’m a square peg person trying to fit into a round hole.  I would do it all again exactly the same because that’s my personality type.  If I’d done it in the order that I perceive everyone else does it (and my research suggests they do), then I would never have continued with the project.  It would have been too easy for me to say “This is all too hard”.  But I’d make Jess work harder on his sales pitch, just because.

Me:        Can you share with your audience (LOL) what your area of craft expertise will be in the future?

Me:        No, but stayed tuned.

Me:        Well, Christine that was an enjoyable interview and I would like to thank you for your time.  Naturally we at Golden Lilly Crafts wish you all the best in your endeavours and look forward to a follow up interview in the months to come.  Hopefully, you can find a way to get that damn horse in front of the cart!!

Me:        Not sure how the horse and cart thingy will work out but yup, I think I'm ready to bring the washing in from the line.  Look forward to your follow up interview.

Just A Little Bit Fancy

I was out walking Goldie and Lilly today and came across this beautiful toadstool,

I just couldn't pass it by without saying "Hi",
Then later in the evening I stared straight up into the sky,

And look what I spied with my little eye?

A beautiful Australian Autumn Sunset

Special Friends

My friend Carol came visiting and bearing gifts.  She's a wonderful cook and always innovative with her recipes, using fresh produce from her garden.  Today she left me with three gorgeous jars of homemade goodies.

From left to right we have Rhubarb and Ginger Jam, Cherry Plum Chutney and Curried Tomato Chutney.  I can hardly wait to taste them.  I'm so lucky to have friends like my best buddy Carol.  Oh and the oranges, lemons and tomatoes are from my garden.

My Favourite Photo Taken By Me in Hanoi - Vietnam

In March this year, I went on a 3 week holiday to Vietnam with my husband.  I took close to 500 photos over that time and this photo is one of my favourites and about the second one I took.  It's a view of the city lake, which unfortunately was quite polluted, but a central meeting place for the locals, young and old.  One of the days we visited the lake we saw about 20 couples in wedding attire [and they all looked so beautiful] having their photos taken.  It was strange to see so many young people tying the knot at the same time, at the same place.  I thought it might have been a photo shoot for a magazine at first glance. We asked someone about this and they told us that Vietnamese people seek guidance once they declare their love for each other and propose to marry, by establishing the luckiest day for the occasion.  I was told that this particular day was lucky for love.

This lake has quite a legendary history to it and the translation of Hoan Kiem literally means 'The Lake of the Restored Sword'.  I'm not going to go into the history, least to say that they once found a giant tortoise in it and it's on display in the Temple of the Tortoise in the middle of the lake. While we were there you would see locals looking intently into the murky water in the hope of sighting a tortoise as again this would bring good luck upon any who sighted this animal.  It was an interesting holiday.