Month: September 2015

September 4th: Making Friends Across the Globe

One of the wonderful things that has come out of writing a blog, managing a YouTube channel and having an active Instagram account is that of creating some beautiful friendships with fellow, like-minded people all across the world! There are quite a number of you who regularly comment, chat, encourage and inspire me in everything that I publish and upload which makes my heart sing with gratefulness, humbleness and thankfulness! (Whew, so many ‘nesses’!) Words can never do justice to how kind you all are and how proud I am to call you friends, even though we’ve never met!

One act of insane kindness that I’m still blown away with is one made by a lovely lady in the UK whom I met on Instagram, Ayshia. Over the past year or so through sharing photos and having lots of great little chitta-chatta sessions, we’ve crazily discovered how many things we have in common even to a point where it’s borderline scary! I find it so fascinating that someone who literally lives on the other side of the world can be so alike to yourself that it feels as though you’ve known each other for ages, even though we’ve never met!

Anyway, with my birthday coming up soon Ayshia so kindly sent me a lovely package in the mail full of sweet gifts that made me so happy!

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Everything she sent was just perfect! Lots of UK memorabilia (because I’m obsessed with the country, as you may know by now!): British flag keyring, a pack of socks (that’ll wear everyday with my Aussie Uggs!) and a half-metre cut of quilting fabric with MINI Coopers on it!!! OMG! Then the most adorable draw-string button bag (with buttons!) from Cath Kidston that I’ve ever seen! I love it so much!

But the one thing that I am so grateful to receive is this beautiful cross-the-body bag that she made herself out of such gorgeous fabric!

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I mean it’s absolutely perfect! Literally! I’m completely blown away by how talented she is and how wonderfully constructed the bag is!

The bag itself features two deep zippered compartments, both fully lined and has a nice long adjustable strap to sling around the body! My favourite type of bag! I’ve decided I’ll be using it tomorrow at the Market Day so that I always have all of my valuables and change safe and close to hand!

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To Ayshia, thank you so much!! Truly, your utter kindness has blown away and I’m so thankful for our little blossoming friendship! I’ll cherish everything you’ve taken the time to send me and continue to sing your praises whenever someone asks about that gorgeous little bag!

And to all of you who regularly read my blog, watch my YouTube videos, like/comment on my Instagram and Facebook page, thank you for your lovely friendship! Everyday you blow me away with your lovely comments and words of encouragement that it makes all of the hard work and late nights totally worth it!

Thank you!

xx

September 3rd: Happy Birthday Mum!

Today, the 3rd of September is my beautiful mum’s birthday!

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Words really can’t express just how wonderful this woman is in my life as well as my brothers, my dads and our extended family and friends. I’m so proud to say that my mum really is my best friend. (Something I’ve only really noticed these past few months or so!) She knows everything about me, supports and encourages me and is always, always there when I need her for anything, whether it be big or small. She also always knows the right time and the perfect way to snap me back into reality when I’ve been in ‘the clouds’ too long, which is quite a regular occurrence I must admit! Put simply, life is better when she’s around and I don’t want that to change. Ever.

So today, we spent a lovely day together by going out local for lunch, laughing, chatting and being our usual nutty selves. Our dining table has been taken over by glittery cards, pretty flowers, chocolate cupcakes, oodles of strawberries and handfuls of crunchy caramel popcorn! Ooo, yum!!

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Tomorrow we’ll be extending the celebrations further when my brother and his family come by for an afternoon-tea-slash-early-dinner party! It’s there, when we’re all together, that the fun, laughter, chaos and big ‘happy birthdays’ are sung! It should be fun, I think!

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Also today I’ve been busily sewing away making some sweet little things for my stall at a Market Day the PWA are holding at my church this coming Saturday! (Actually, I should OUR stall as I’m sharing a table with my sister-in-law Amie, who makes the most adorable little baby accessories!) Ergo, the day has consisted of making the finishing touches to a few new little wallets as well as quickly stitching up some very cute petal pincushions and some tissue box fabric covers! Well, the tissue box covers have only been cut out at the moment. I hope to squeeze in some more sewing tonight and tomorrow morning!

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I’m so unbelievably happy with how these little pincushions turned out! The pattern I used was one that came in issue no. 52 of Mollie Makes. Once I read through it and saw how simple they were to make, I knew I had to get into it and make some to sell at the stall! Also, while we’re talking about them, hands up those of you who want a tutorial on how to make one… I’d be more than happy to share with you how I make them!

Until tomorrow…

Happy Sewing, Friends!

xx

September 2nd: Liebster Award Nominee!

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Now this is a fun little thing!

One of my lovely blogger friends, Sharon from the blog Artistic Sharon Runs has nominated me and my blog for a Liebster Award! (Thanks Sharon!! That’s so kind of you!)

A Liebster Award is basically an award given from one blogger to the next, recognising the awesome work they put into their blogs as well as helping them be discovered by other bloggers and readers! How great is that!? Once you’ve been nominated you can either choose to accept it or ignore it! The choice is completely yours!

As a nominee, I now have the responsibility to nominate 5 other bloggers for the award! But I’ll chat more about at the end of the post!

So as a part my nomination, Sharon has forwarded these 11 questions for me to answer in an attempt for you to get to know me better!

Let’s begin!

Q1 // How, why & when did you start blogging?

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Me in 2011!

I first started my blog in November 2011. At the time I’d been thinking about starting my own blog where I could chat and share all of the quilty and crafty things I was up to! I also needed a way to share the process of a quilt I was making for my cousin in the UK as thank you for looking after my parents when they were visiting that past summer! (Here’s the link to that post if you’re interested! It was like only the second one I had ever written and published!)

Q2 // What’s the nicest thing someone has done for you?

The first thing that springs to mind is the beautiful farewell scrapbook that my department manager Kerri made for me when I left my job at Spotlight.

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It was full of good luck wishes from my fellow team mates, photos of me from demonstration days and special store celebrations along with special embellishments and decals that were me to a ‘T’! Everything about it was so special and lovely. I’ve never had anyone give me anything like that where they’ve put so much effort and love in to it!

Q3 // If you could meet one famous person alive today, who would it be?

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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II // Source

It would be a dream to meet the Queen! Can you imagine all of the wonderful things to ask and chat about! In her life she has met so many important people who have come and gone and I think it would be fascinating to listen to her opinion and experiences with them all. Plus she just seems like the most loveliest person to talk to over a cuppa and plate of biccies!

Q4 // What is one thing on your bucket list you absolutely have to do?

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Big Ben // London // Source

Two words: Explore London.

Q5 // Describe a beautiful place that you’ve been.

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Definitely Fiji!

In February/March, I went on a cruise to Fiji and saw some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen! Clear sparkling turquoise water, perfectly white sandy beaches, palm trees swaying calmly in the breeze and the most chilled-out, relaxed atmosphere I’ve ever experienced! It was heaven!

Q6 // What makes you happy?

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Finn & Jake // Source

Family. Friends. Quilting. Creating. Driving. Baking. Quiet. Chocolate. Adventure Time. Sunshine. Flowers. Fabric.

Q7 // What irritates you?

Selfishness. Lack of respect. Ignorance. Laziness. Slow Drivers.

Q8 // What song will always cheer you up?

Q9 // Can you play any musical instruments?

No. Although, I did begin piano lessons as a teenager but realised quite quickly that it wasn’t for me!

I also really wanted to play the guitar, but like piano, I gave it up quite quickly as I sucked so bad at it!

Q10 // What does your ideal day off consist of?

Reading Time!

Getting cosy on the lounge with a big quilt, a cup of tea, a slice of chocolate cake and watching a favourite film or reading a good book!

Q11 // What is one thing you really like about yourself?

I like the fact that I can see the bigger picture about most things. I’m pretty optimistic but at the same time I think it’s important to strive and achieve the goals and dreams you have.

I also like the fact that I’m a good driver.

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So now comes the more serious side to the Liebster Awards… The rules for accepting and nominating thy fellow bloggers!

Rules for the Liebster Awards:

1. Write a post thanking and linking the person who nominated you.

2. Include an image of the award in your post.

3. Nominate 5 to 10 other bloggers with less than 200 followers who you feel are worthy of this award.

4. Inform them they’ve been nominated by commenting on one of their posts.

5. Answer the 11 questions asked to you by the person who nominated you, then make 11 questions of your own for your nominees (or you may use the same questions).

6. Lastly, copy and paste these rules in your post.

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The five bloggers who I’ve nominated for a Liebster Award are…

Rebecca’s Sewing, Art and Lifestyle Blog

A Thought In Every Thread

Downing in Fabric

My Pieced Life

The Bumbling Quilter

Ladies, here are my questions for you to answer…

1. How, why & when did you start blogging?

2. What inspires you most in life?

3. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Or neither?

4. Where do you hope to be in 10 years time?

5. What is your go-to Karaoke song?

6. Favourite city?

7. What is one thing you wish you were better at?

8. Describe your ideal Summer’s Day?

9. What song always makes you want to get up and dance?

10. Your biggest crafting/sewing disaster to date.

11. What is at the top of your bucket list?

Like I mentioned at the beginning, you can choose to accept your nomination and ‘pass it forward’ or simply ignore it and continue on your way! No biggie.

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A big thanks again to Sharon for the nomination and I look forward to reading some of the answers to the questions I’ve posed to those of you who have been nominated!

It’s all just so much fun!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

xx

September 1st: The Challenge Begins!

HelloSeptember

A few weeks ago, I had a crazy thought…

At the time, I hadn’t written, checked or really had any plans of what to publish on my blog. Guilt set in and I thought to myself, ‘What can I do to ensure my blog won’t be neglected throughout September?’ Then the ‘crazy thought’ happen. As September is a busy month for me, why not set the challenge of writing a blog post every day during the month commentating, chatting, sharing and celebrating all of the good things that are happening!

So that what’s we’re doing! Every day this month you can expect a new blog post from me, giving you more of an insight into my life, my family, my sewing room and what I do outside of it too! The posts I write from day-to-day will vary from super long and wordy to short, direct and to the point. They may be all words, or just all photos.

Like I mentioned, September is super-busy for me right from the get-go! There are birthdays, special weekend celebrations, blog hops, quilt tutorials, shows in the city, a new job prospect and so many ideas to trap and share! And as an added bonus, September for us Aussies equals the start of Spring! Yay!! Goodbye winter worries, with your sneezy noses and freezing finger tips! Hello to glorious sunshine, warm breezes and colourful flowers in the back garden!

So, should we get this challenge under way?

Cheers to a happy, healthy, fun and memorable September!

xx

PS. This edit marks my 200th blog post published to my blog since I first started it in November 2011! Hooray!!