if it smells like a rose....

I haven't posted for some time, but I'll leave the "buts and why for's,'' for another day... I wrote a few words for my garden club and thought that I'd kill two birds with one stone.. so its getting used twice. We have moved house many times over the years and I always find it hard to leave the garden. More so than the house, so I take numerous cuttings and many pots of things that I can't bear to part with... we end up moving more garden stuff than furniture and belongings.. I tend to grow mainly cottage garden type plants with roses being my undying love. Roses are the world's most photographed, most written about and most loved , the world over... everyone has a favourite, whether its for colour, type or perfume. I am no exception, I love the old world roses and David Austin's...   our garden is not large, it's easy to maintain but it does get overgrown quickly, due to the fact that i hate to cut things back.. 'just a little longer,' I say, as the last blooms of each season, linger....  This year the roses rambling over the front fence, the invincible 'Albertine' and the constantly flowering 'Duchesse de Brabant' that adorns the arch, have been prolific. I find myself checking the mailbox contstantly, just to get a whiff of their sweet perfume... All too soon, they will be just a memory, but, how lovely it is to know that they will endure and give pleasure for many years to come.. these two roses take pride of place, but there are others that I have planted here with success. there's 'Pierre de Ronsard', Reine des Violettes', 'Jude the Obscure' with the glorious fruity aroma. the ever popular 'Pinkie' that never disappoints. theres the climbing 'Blue Moon' on the side fence near the cricket oval. we have many more and of course you need lavender, daisies and the clipped hedges to compliment them... Max is as passionate about the garden as I am. We tend to be haphazzard with our planting, so we end up with a chaotic somewhat wild look.. we prefer this, rather than the very neat orderly style that many adopt. For accent in the garden, we use anything that is old and/or rustic. Any old bits and pieces, mirrors mosaiics, pretty much anything goes! I think our gardens echo ourseves to some degree... oh dear!! this really is a mad woman's muddle and muddle on, we will!  And if we continue to get pleasure fom planting, growing and sharing then this garden has well and truly earned it's place in our lives!! It is constantly changing and always rewarding!
happy gardening...
lots of love
 Christine xx

Sew little time .... or .... Sew what's new?

poke the piccy's for close-up...

Like many of you, I have had some trouble lately with blogger. I haven't been able to reply to comments left on my blog and I lost my followers for a while... but you're back now, thank goodness... what would I do without you. Apologies to anyone who couldn't reach me..

                                                       Wedding Bands Mini Quilt

I've finished a couple of little quilts recently and thought that you might like a squizz...
The Wedding Bands quilt is my favourite and was fun to do.. it's not pieced, but is photocopied onto cotton fabric. (not by me) its a bit of a cheat, i know, but as the little coloured squares are only about 5mm they are a bit small to piece.. i have used a very fine fill and backed it with an old hanky. Each ring is quilted on the inner rim and again on the outer rim and i have quilted a 4 petal daisy in the white centres. Its a bit hard to see it properly in the photo's. I thought that it would be fun to photograph it on top of the real size one, that you might have seen in a previous blog 'Sweet dreams are made of this'.

                                                           Piggy Back

The other 2 little quilts are printed fabric, that come up quite nice if you quilt every line in the design.. I'm not finished with these yet. I think that they will look much nicer with a bit of ageing treatment.. first I'll soak them in a bleach solution and wash and let dry, then I'll dribble cold tea over them to give the appearance of age.. I have lots of little quilts waiting to be finished, but, 'sew little time'...

                                            needing some ageing..                 

Its winter here, so I don't have many roses out at the moment, but the angels trumpets are just finishing their run. I've posted a few piccy's to show you how they looked..

                                                                       Pink

                                                                     Apricot

                                                          Double White

 Great hey!  I know they are poisonous (hence the name Angel's Trumpet) but I have always grown them and never had a problem..  Hope they add some cheer to your day..
Lots of Love
Christine xxx

A little R and R...

A little rest.. now some restoration.....

A lot has happened since i was here last... I have recovered nicely from my surgery, had a much needed rest and best of all I am now a great grandmother.. His name is Bailey Maxwell Jones and he will be much loved and smothered by hugs and kisses by all, in this huge loony family...
I might not have blogged, but I have kept up to date with all thats been happening in blogland... I have also kept my finger on the pulse on ebay! OOPS no,,, that was the buy button! .. hehe... seriously... I have added some more pieces to fill some of my houses. Some were a bargain, some I just couldn't live without..
The Lines DH/D is coming along nicely. Some of you will remember it from the post  fate... and fancy...

This was before the new paintwork was antiqued and distressed...
and before the shutters were added.

The shutters I copied from an original.

Window bay and front door with its original lion doorknocker.
The ring was missing so this one was from a piece of jewellry.

It's only 2 rooms but it looks very cosy when it's filled..

The pink wallpaper I bought from america..

This wallpaper came from england.. thanks Lizzie.

I decided to use vintage wallpapers that are of the same vintage as the house. I did consider using replica triang papers, but as I had these in my collection, it was an easy decision.. I must say I am happy with the end result.. now for curtains and furnishings, thats next time!!

Real glass in the windows and suitably distressed..
now just waiting for occupants...

It's so nice to be back talking to you.. I don't know why I put it off for so long... well my coffee's getting cold and the garden is calling, but I'll be back soon! promise ..

Lots of Love
Christine  x

Hang on, help is on its way...

Oh dear, why did i think that it would be easy to change the design on my blog??
Others do it all the time... not me... all i've done is make a mess, and to top it off
the computer keeps freezing, just when i think i've got it!!  I probably shouldn't have
tried without Imogen here to help.. no matter.. it is, what it is...  Help is on its way..
she'll be here as fast as she can. Well,  maybe..

Imogen  Eve

This is my beautiful helper (granddaughter) who keeps me on the straight and narrow, with
computer stuff.. she is 12 going on 22 and just about to start high school. good luck baby..
I have had lots of things going on since before christmas... so it's been a while..but, on the
up side, i have been reading everyones blogs and trying to keep up to date with all that's
 happening. Most of you are back into the swing of things and are diving headfirst into new
 projects.. Lots of inspiration there!!

without its roof

I stumbled across this little dolls house a few weeks ago.. It was just sitting on the floor looking
lost and a bit sad...  It needed a new roof, which it now has, though i do need to paint it red!!
I think it once might have had a sliding front door, as there is a groove in the floor where it once
slid.

looking happier

Outside came up really well with a good clean,  and really only the new roof needs paint.
The inside was a different matter. it had been drawn and written on with lead and coloured
pencils... it got 2 coats of white paint..



as it might have been

It's not all that old and it is a commercially made house.. but there were no labels or stickers on it so i have no idea of its age or origin...I'm sure someone out there had one, so i might find out who made it!! It was a very good find at $4.00...  I can't wait to furnish it...

Lots of Love

Christine xxx

love and loss....

joy to the world



beginning to decorate 

 The xmas tree is up!!!  Well it was, until i got a little bit greedy and tried to put more decoration on it than the poor little tree could handle! Each year i try to decorate it differently than the previous year.  This year it's a little bit shabby, with lots of vintage jewellery and some quirky bits that i have had lying around the house... I gathered up roses, crystals, old crocheted gloves, braid from my sewing box even a pincushion. There are earings, bracelets and pearls... lots of vintage bling... It got so heavy that it began to lean. then the poor thing collapsed under the weight.... it looked gorgeous for a minute or two....


before a lot of bling was added



almost there

My daughters thought this quite hilarious as we are all playing with our trees, trying to get them just right. There is a little bit of competition happening and i'm now running last,with this mishap.. its all great fun and the end result being some very creative trees!
Xmas in our family has always been a time of great joy and excitement. its a wonderful time to gather together and celebrate our love for each other. There is the ritual of feasting and sharing of gifts,  much fun and hilarity, teasing and laughter, sometimes tears but always the knowledge, that we are very lucky, as a family, to have each other.

There is another generation emerging, now, having fun, living life and learning the traditions of  family... my greatest achievement will be realized if they can live their lives with love, respect and compassion..  i need to say that i am very proud to be the matriarch ( its a role that i cherish,) of this boisterous lot, and am enjoying watching as each special individual finds their place in our lives.. i love you all...

Aangel up above..dd caption

stunning vintage shellcraft doll..Add caption

gorgeous vintage jewellery, but the weight was too much to bear...Add caption

In the midst of all this love and emotion that i am feeling for my family, comes the intense feeling of pain and loss.. My very beautiful pekingese, Toddy, passed away recently.. He was the centre of my existence and the pain of his loss, devastating... i know from experience that time will heal the gaping hole in my heart, but for now, knowledge doesn't ease that pain..  Life is different now..  he isn't waiting for me when i come home, he isn't there when i turn around, but i can still smell him, still hear his breathing in the other room... He is resting, in the garden, with his toy piggy.  RIP my darling boy..xxx

I am still working on the Lines house that i bought a little while back..I will post piccy's soon, its starting to look as it should or as it would have... still haven't decided about the wallpaper!

I am going now to put some twinkling lights over the front door!!  hug your loved ones  Christine xxx

fate... and fancy...

dh/d minus its windows and door...

Hello to everyone.. I have had lots going on lately, so i haven't had much time to myself. But i did find time to buy another vintage dolls house! I have fancied this model for quite some time... it's a Lines DH/D. Funny name, nice house! A few have slipped by me on ebay. Being either out of reach pricewise or distance has thrown up obstacles. I had been watching this particular house, on ebay, it was in the UK, but the seller was reluctant to take overseas bids, so i thought that i was destined, once again to just watch and drool....
Fate is a funny thing.. it so happened that the buyer of this little gem was a member of a dolls house club that i belong to. Long story short... she offered the house to me and i naturally jumped at the opportunity to add it to my slowly growing collection!!!
I was amazed at how quickly the courier service got the house to Australia from the UK. just over 4 days, with a weekend slap bang in the middle and with Wendy's careful packing there wasn't a hair out of place...
It's a great little house with lots of charm, only 2 rooms to furnish, very sweet. A petition had been added to the top floor but this wasn't original to the house, so had to go. Wallpapers were very quickly removed, i was slightly disapointed not to find any remnants of the original wallpapers but i have friends with this model and research has not been difficult. Thanks to technology we can now get copies of a lot of the old wallpapers.

roof papers have been removed.

not sure yet if this had roof paper or was painted?

almost there...

still messy..

black gloss paint, very stubborn..



still some sanding needed..

 i'm happy that the house is complete, i'm not quite sure, but i think its about 90 years old.. I hope i will be in as good condition when i'm that age!!
It's been painted over and the black gloss will take some effort to remove. I have decided to take the windows out to remove the paint. The metal frames are quite fragile and i don't want to risk breaking them.
I have been told in no uncertain terms that the window panes should be replaced with glass, DEFINITELY not plastic..... I consider myself told!
Luckily there are some lovely people out there who have this house and i have been picking their brains and stalking their photo's, getting a feel for it!
It's not finished and probably will take a little while, but already, in my mind, i am sorting what will suit and what won't! Can't wait!!!
Some more news!!  My eldest granddaughter who is 22, and her partner, are going to be parents!!
That will make me a GREAT grandmother..  yay!! yes i know, i am already great!!!
 It doesn't get much better than this! 
Christine xxx