Thursday, March 28, 2024

Easter Creativity . . . . Part 1 "Making"

Greetings lovely friends & readers

There has been quite a bit of Easter Creativity going on here at Threadbear HQ.

I wanted to make the Grandchildren some Easter treat bags similar to the Carrot Bags I made in * this post *.

A google search for Easter Treat Bags free patterns sent me to this wonderful site.   I didn't want anything too complicated & these box bottom bags with their bunny ears just fit the bill nicely.

Fronts with their lovely bows & bunny ears                   Backs with their fluffy bunny tails     

 I made a prototype using the measurements they gave ... 6 x 9 inches - it was too small for what I needed.  So I made another slightly larger one but still needed to increase my length.  This is why I ended up with the 3 prototypes above, which I filled with some Easter treats & sent off to 3 dear friends living away  ... some surprise mail to hopefully brighten their days.  

From left to right .....  Sadie's, Juno's, Alec's & Sid's is the dinosaur one

The final measurement I settled on was 7 inches wide by 12 in length.  This just held all the goodies nicely that I wanted to include for my 2 Grandsons & 2 (step) Grandaughters.  

I was also determined to use up fabrics that I already had in my stash & was able to achieve this without buying anything - even the ribbons were from my stash.  

I included stickers & crafty bits, Pokemon cards for the boys, egg cups, not all of it was chocolate ... some of the choccy items accidentally ended up in my mouth (!!!) 😐

    
 Another change I made was to fit a rectangle of cardboard in the bases as this just made them sit that much nicer.  Some pom poms glued on for tails & Happy Easter  🐰🐇 !!!

Each grandchild gets an Easter Activity book along with their treat bags.  They are all wrapped & ready to hand out this weekend.


I had to drive & collect Alec from school last week so I went via the city as The Mr needed a motorbike part picked up.  I popped into K-mart for some bits to fill the children's treat bags & spied these Easter wreaths on sale.  I purchased one as I'd seen * this * wonderful YouTube Video & decided I just Had to make one!  

On my way out the other side of the city I stopped at The Hamilton Flower Market to buy a bag of green moss.  I was parked right outside St Vinnies Op-shop so as I was running ahead of time I popped in for a quick look.

This is what I came away with friends  ....  I could not believe my haul & all of this for the princely total of $27 !! Some real treasures in amongst this lot (tho' for some reason The Mr did not seem to think so & he did mention the word Junk !!!) 😉



These sweet little Easter Candles were still in their original cellophane - $4 for 6.  I removed them from their carton & displayed them on a dear little ceramic dish that I'd thrifted several weeks ago  .  .  .  .  .  .


.  .  .  .  .  . sitting on a nest of pastel coloured Easter Grass 💗

Be still my beating heart 💕


Last Saturday it rained here all day long, was dreary & cold & this is where the furry 3 spent the entire day.  If you see the arrow in the top left hand pic, that is fat Blackie asleep on Mum's glory box (!!),  Little One on the bed & Madam Pip in front of the heater of course!        I decided to have myself  "A Crafting Day" 


I happily stood at my bench all morning & painted wooden tags & this wooden rabbit cut-out purchased 



Two coats of Vintage White chalk paint & I was ready to decoupage a serviette onto my rabbit.  I added a lace bow & a key charm to her neck.  These wooden eggs were in a drawer - I used to have them as display items in my craft cottage when I sold the Hessian Hen doorstops that I used to make.



I gave them a good wash (they were filthy) & applied some Re-design knob transfers to them ... a sweet little display beside my wooden rabbit  🐰💗



Once painted I decoupaged the tags with serviettes & also this little wooden paddle in the centre .. I lightly rubbed the edges with antiqueing ink to age them a bit.


Back to finishing off that wreath .... once the glue was dry & I'd filled in any gaps, I found an old tin urn of Mums which I filled with oasis & then secured the wreath in using bamboo skewers.  This stabilised it well.  I decoupaged some polystyrene eggs with vintage music papers & popped these in the front.  My urn could do to be a bit bigger but sometimes you just have to use what you have on hand, as well we know dear friends.


I had planned to trim my topiary but I've decided I rather like it hairy for now!  My friend Desiree visited this morning & when she said "that just looks like it's been there forever" it was the best compliment she could pay me  😊


Thank you as always dear friends, for your welcome visits here today,

Wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend - I shall be back with Part 2 over Easter as I still have lots to share with you,

With much love & friendship to you all,



Sunday, March 17, 2024

Giveaway Winner & Bedroom Finish

Greetings dear friends & readers

I have been trying to blog since Friday evening but sometimes ...... it gets really difficult  . . . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . .  as you can see (!!)

Friday 15th was the day we drew my Easter Giveaway winner ... I wrote all the names out on pieces of paper, put them in my big old twin-spout teapot, gave it a good shake & The Mr drew out a name.

Congratulations to Pam from Waiuku (no blog) - if you would like to email me your address please Pam, I have your package all ready to go 💗


A huge Thank You to everyone who entered - I had 70 entries (although 2 of them asked not to be entered).  I very much enjoyed reading everyone's favorite colours & yesterday I wrote them all out - in case you are interested, here are the results :-
Blue (including Teal, Aqua & Navy) = 20
Green  =  14
Pink = 9
Purple = 4
Orange = 3
Red = 2
Yellow = 1
Burgundy = 1
Grey = 1
White = 1 
Love all colours = 4
So Blue was a clear winner  💙
(Also not everyone who left a comment/entry wrote their favorite colour)


Last Tuesday I drove to the city to collect my blinds from being professionally cleaned, came home & hung them up.  I have a large one at the French Doors in my bedroom & then 2 long narrow windows on another wall, each with a blind at them.  I love my blinds & felt it was a good investment to have them cleaned (tho' I did feel quite faint when they told me the price !!)



Here are the long narrow windows, both on the same wall.
When I had the blinds made I bought an extra metre of fabric & made myself some cushions to match.


I carefully washed all my bedding to save on drycleaning costs & it came up beautifully.  Photo above right was not what I anticipated but Little One had gotten wet through & The Mr wrapped him up in a fleece cuddly blanket to warm up  😣


You can read about my bedside table upcycle in * this older post *

My dressing table - I love this old piece of furniture & I had thoughts of stripping the varnish off it to give it a flatter finish, but for some reason I don't mind the shiny finish so much now.  Other side of the bed - oak cabinet & the vintage footstool under it from this post in 2013 !!!

The Mr's chest of drawers which matches my dressing table, & my tomato sauce tray upcycle.   Lots of Mum's treasures on here.


Rectangular doiley stool upcycle in this post * here * & other stool covered in leftover blinds fabric.  Stools are handy in the bedroom for plonking your stuff on (!!!)


We have a double wardrobe on the wall as you enter the room, with Louvre doors. I took these off, took them out on my driveway & scrubbed them with sugar soap, then hosed them off.  They came up beautifully so I didn't need to paint them, which delighted me immensely.


In a corner, beside the wardrobe is an alcove.  This is the exact size of a babies cot - previous Owners put this in when they added the master bedroom on.  They had a baby so hung a curtain over the alcove & it worked well.
  It is the perfect space for our computer. Our old desk was wobbly & inefficient so I went online & bought a new one that fits exactly in the gap. I was thrilled about this & also the lovely big drawer it had.  Apart from the wall paint for the room this was my only purchase - everything else I used what I already had on hand.  I would love to replace the 2 wall lights at some stage but will wait for a sale.  



When I collected my blinds I noticed a big Salvation Army Op-shop just a couple of doors along so I went for a nosey - be very rude of me not to 😉  
I came out with this sweet little blue dish/bowl for $8.  I've sat a baby houseplant in it & may replant it properly into the bowl. I am enjoying having live plants in my bedroom as I've never done this before & I especially love the green against the soft blue.
I still have 1 door to paint & some pictures to hang but for now I am enjoying the blank walls & the fresh new paint.  The colour is Cottage Cream & I used Painters White for the ceiling.  I prefer a low sheen finish to a gloss.  I would also like to revamp my bed headboard but this can be a project for another day.  


A few little touches of Easter decorating are appearing in my home this weekend.


I also hauled my poor old rusty trike out of the garden, scrubbed it down & replanted it with some Snapdragons, then I planted Petunias in my tin bucket.  There is a definate feel of autumn in the air here now & the nights are cooler.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead dear friends,

Thank you, as always, for your visits here today,

With much love & friendship to you all.





 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Fun Painting & Not-So-Fun Painting ........................

Greetings lovely friends & readers

After I returned from laying Mum's ashes I had a moment of absolute madness burst of enthusiasm whereby I decided to paint my entire bedroom (!!)

Yes we're starting with the not-so-fun-painting ............ 😉

The sweetest jar of flowers delivered to me by Sid yesterday - made me smile so much 
💛
 

This is how we have been living for the past 10 days - with the bedroom in upheaval but still needing to be slept in at nights.  Yes I have had assistance of the unwanted variety 🐱
The walls & ceiling are finished now, I just have the door to do but have been putting everything back in place, which requires much cleaning & some sorting (getting rid of) 

Reality check ...... this is how the Lounge looked while things were moved in here to make room for painting - I don't enjoy living in disarray but I do enjoy the nice fresh paint work at the end.  
My blinds have been sent away to be professionally cleaned & once they return (hopefully in a day or 2) I can share photos of the finished room.

-  The Fun Painting  -
When I cleared out Mum's house for sale exactly a year ago now I bought her Glory Box home with me.  I didn't especially need it (or have room for it) but just could not bear to part with it.  It sat in a corner of my bedroom where I proceeded to clutter it up with blankets & suchlike.  I decided to give it a make-over while everything else was in a big shambles.


I used chalk paint in the colour Linen - I decided to try rolling it on.  I'd not tried this before with chalk paint but my friend Gail swears by it for large flat surfaces. I was really pleased with how it went onto the wood surface & the finished effect.
  You can see above right I had the very same unwanted assistance - see the arrow - the little paw poking through.  Someone thought the roller going up & down was the most marvellous fun game  😐


Because I didn't feel confident I put it only quite thinly, so it took 4 coats to cover it well.  First coat top left, final coat top right.  I am so pleased with the coverage on it though & would definately use the roller method again.


I even painted inside the lid.  The box has a tray that fits just inside the top.  Mum had this made when she was a young woman & I especially love the curved sides of it.  
They call them Blanket boxes nowadays but when Mum was young, most girls had a Glory Box or a Hope Chest.

I had this gorgeous transfer bought from * Here * that I wanted to apply.  I just love how this has transformed the piece ... I gave it two good coats of wax when finished to protect it. 


Here it is in place in my bedroom & I've hung the mirror that I revamped in * this post * above it - (same Linen colour). 



My bedroom has French Doors leading off to an area of deck - this room gets wonderful afternoon sun. 

THIS is what I came home to yesterday!! I'd left some folded washing on the Glory box & The Mr had spread it out for Blackie to curl up on.  I have to say this is not what I had in mind when I revamped Mum's Glory Box (!!)



Here is the Turtles plant that my dear friend Sandy gifted me a couple of years ago.   You can read about the stool I revamped for it in this Post.   As you can see it has long outgrown the stool & I wanted something higher for it - away from tempting little furry paws!

BEFORE                                                                AFTER

I'd asked my friend Gail to let me know if any plant stands came into the Op Shop where she volunteers.  Within a week she'd messaged me saying one had come in, to pop in & have a look.  For $10 I snapped it up - it was black but I knew I could paint it.  Yesterday I gave it 3 coats Vintage White chalk paint. I love how the wood detailing shows up now with the lighter colour.

............ & the perfect height to keep away from little paws & the vacuum cleaner (!!)

Many of you ask if the 3 furry friends are getting along any better now after all these months?  To be honest, not really ... but I will take any signs of progress I can get  ..........
............ & this pic snapped yesterday was definately progress in my book!  
Please excuse the DIY-ing conglomeration on my deck area, paint pots, trays, backpacks of spray etc. 
 But I did smile when I saw this & grabbed my camera. Mind you it only lasted a few minutes before the hissing began again.

Thank you as always dear friends, for your visits here today,
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry three x0x0x0



Sunday, March 3, 2024

Carrying Out Mum's Final Wishes

Greetings lovely friends & readers

When my Mum passed away last year she left very specific instructions on where she wanted her ashes to go after cremation.    Long time readers of my blog may recall I often used to take Mum to lay flowers where Dads ashes are when I was down in Taranaki.  You can read about some of these visits in the posts  Here,  Here,  Here,  & Here

Beautiful Mount Taranaki - photo taken from car window

 As it is coming up 6 months since Mum's passing it was high time we carried out her final wishes.  
But first I needed to prepare a few things ..........

The flowers on Mums casket                                  Flowers on my deck table

When Mum passed we found a bag with all her funeral instructions inside.  You can read about these in this Post..  She specifically wanted pink & mauve flowers on her casket which I was able to arrange.  Afterwards I bought the casket flowers home with me & hung them up in bunches to try & dry them, including all the greenery.  Truthfully, I hung them up, then completely forgot about them until well after Christmas.

They dried really well but had faded - I wasn't sure what to do with them until my dear friend Sally (who trained as a florist) kindly offered to come & help me make them into a bouquet.  Sally is a whizz & put together the most lovely bouquet from what I'd dried.  Here she is in action, at my dining table, chatting away & putting together a bouquet from all my oddments - she's amazing  💕 (I paid her in Fudge Cake)


I was just so thrilled with what Sally managed to use up & it turned out just beautiful  💗  

As Mum always took red silk roses to Dad, I bought some from the Variety Store & made up a bunch to lay for Dad.



Mum always loved Lavender so I dried a bunch of my own lavender & thought it might be nice for the Grandsons to make a card each to go with this.  


The day before we left I baked Banana Bread, Chocolate Fudge Slice, Lasagne & Bacon & Egg Pie.  It saved me having to buy so much food while we were away.



Kitchen & Living area in the middle, 2 sets of bedrooms on either side each with large bathrooms

In January I went online & booked us into a nice Airbnb in a small township just out of the city & 5 minutes walk to the beach.  Because there were 7 of us going (my sons & their families) I needed something large enough to accomodate us all.  This worked out well, not flash but certainly sufficient, nice & private & everybody had their own space.  



Tucked in behind the Crematorium is a beautiful large, horse-shoe shaped garden called The Garden Of Remembrance.  This is where my Dad's ashes are - he has been gone 23 years this June.  Mum has spent the past 22 1/2 years telling us all ... That is where I am going - there with your Dad. 
 It is a lovely peaceful place with seats dotted around the edges & planted out with native trees & flowering shrubs.  The birdlife is wonderful.
My brother & sister in law had driven up to meet us here as they had Mum's ashes.
(Yes I did text them the morning we were to meet up to remind them to not forget the ashes!!!)  😉

This whole area was covered in Wandering Dew - you can see where we cleared it

The biggest hurdle I had was finding where Dad actually was - it had been 2 years since I had last visited & the growth, the tree removal & the weather storms had completely changed the area. I always thought I could find it blindfolded but it was not so.
The Resting with the Angels plaque that Mum had placed there was what I was looking for - I just could not find it & was beginning to feel quite panicked after about 10 minutes searching.

There was no way I could just place Mums ashes anywhere.  Finally I found what looked like a red rose & when I cleared away the vast area of wandering dew, there was the plaque. I can't tell you how relieved I was ... many prayers were said!!  The family helped me clear the area well & we were able to dig Mums ashes in beside where Dads were & place our flowers. 

Eldest son took lots of photos for me.


Alec saying a few words to Great Nan as he laid the lavender - he had a very special relationship with her. 



There is a huge big old moss covered tree right in the middle of the gardens - it must be VeRy old as it was old when Dads ashes first went there.  The Grandsons loved it.



Afterwards we all drove 5 minutes up the road to The Quail's Nest for a wonderful lunch together.  Although I have forgotten to take any photos of the food Or the family members ... the meal was amazing!


And the views were rather spectacular too.


The boys ate their meals then had a run around outside for awhile.  After lunch we made our way back into the city - it was the weekend of the annual Americarna event..   We all went for a wander around looking at the American cars ...   I especially loved the Buick below because it came with its own matching luggage & travel rug (!!)  And a gorgeous pale green colour 💚


Back at the B & B youngest son went for a surf & the Grandsons found the biggest surfboard in the world!!!



The following day (Sunday) we all packed up & headed home again - it had been a wonderful time together carrying out Mum's final wishes.  I feel so pleased that we were able to do this last thing for her & I can "visit" anytime I am heading south in the future.

Thank you all if you've managed to stay through this long photo-heavy post. 
There is still time to enter my Easter Giveaway should you wish - go to * this post * to enter the draw.  Thank you to those that have already.
Wishing you all much love & friendship dear friends,
Love Julie & the furry three x0x0x0