My first Crocheted cushion !

Hello lovely ones!
~ I hope you are feeling just as happy as I am that it's Friday!~

*Remember to enter the giveway/s in the post below this one, there is still 12 days to do so!!*

I wanted to share my first crochet cushion cover with you. I couldn't believe how quick and easy this was, I literally finished it in the space of a weekend. I sat two nights whilst watching TV to make this. So it must of taken in total about 4 hours to make.



I simply used 4 granny squares left over from a previous project and then crocheted those together and then did a border of single crochet around all 4 squares. I then simply did a row of double crochet until I got to the desired measurement.

The back is simply one large granny square using double crochet (3 at a time into each space followed by one single crochet).

Then I joined the front and back together using afghan stitch and then finished off with a little edge which is ch3, 2 dch all into small hole, then next st a single ch and then next st ch3 followed by 2 dch and so on and so on all the way around.

Completed with 6 little buttons I hand sewed on.
A final touch was adding 4 little flowers to the center of each granny square and then sew a little button onto each flower center.

And this one is in my daughter's room as the colors match so nicely with her room deco!

Anyway I am glad it's weekend, cos, firstly I need SLEEP! *can never get enough when every morning I wake up at 6 and it is pitch dark until 7:30!!*

-To do something constructive and crafty (as always :)
-To spend time with the little ones
-get some gardening done! *got seeds to plant*!

What about you...any plans??

5th Blogaversary GIVEAWAY!!! *enter here*

Hello!!!
Finally...I have a few minutes in between waiting for the rice to cook to post about my 5th blogaversary giveaway!!
I am so excited about this. I always get a little thrill when I think of how far this blog has come and the changes it has gone through!
Through it all, I have met some great people, been introduced to some lovely ladies who inspire me on so many levels.
I have had constant readers who delight me with their comments and for this I am the most grateful. Anyone can blog, but it's the feedback at the end of the day that makes it seem more worthwhile! YOU know who you are... thank you!
I also love the fact that it's a bit of my life recorded with photos, and all the things I love all in one place! Like a 5 year long diary!!

There are a TWO giveaways, so make sure you enter the one/s you want to and please read the rules carefully...

GIVEAWAY ONE

I am giving away a whole stash of stuff to ONE happy person.
{everything is handmade by me:
-mini bunting
-Paris tags
-Gift tags
-embellishments including felt birds, foam butterflies, ribbon, fabric and felt flowers, paper flowers with buttons sewn in the middle, ticket stubs, crocheted flowers, altered flowers.
Here is one of the gifts...a crocheted flower sewn onto lace and tulle complete with guinea fowl feathers. This I made to be a brooch or to be made into a hair accessory, although you will need to add the safety pin or hair band to it.
A close up of some of the goodies.

GIVEAWAY TWO
Again this is will go to one happy person.

A scrap booking embellishment set such as you see in the photo below.
The set contains two crocheted flowers with vintage style button detail, fabric roses with tulle, ribbon and feather detail, (can be used as a brooch too), a pack of 6 paper flowers with buttons and butterflies sewn on, a pack of 3 assorted trim and assorted tags/tickets.

The prize may differ from the photo below, depending on what I have in stock.

SPECIAL FREE ENTRY for:
If you are a follower of my blog and/or a newsletter subscriber, you automatically are given a FREE entry. So say you are a follower AND A newsletter subscriber, you get TWO free entries automatically without having to do anything!! {just to say thanks!}


All you have to do to ENTER these giveaways is the following:

1) Just leave a comment in THIS post to enter.
State which giveaway you are entering eg "giveaway 1".
You can enter for both in one comment, but then please say "giveaway 1 and 2".
-only comments in THIS post will be accepted as an entry for the giveaway

2) You MUST leave me some way to contact you....
* an blog address
* an email address
-no contact details, no entry

3) To enter, you MUST answer this simple question: (just a random comment like "pick me! pick me!!" or "thanks for the chance" won't qualify.)
Question: What do you enjoy most about this blog that keeps you returning?


4) Giveaway closes the 31 May 2011 and the prize will be randomly drawn on that day.
The prize will be shipped by registered air mail at the beginning of June.

5) Don't forget, subscribers to my newsletter and followers each get a free entry!

YAY!!!! And thank YOU for sharing this journey with me!

5th Blogaverssary!!

Technically the anniversary of my blog was yesterday!! Eek.....but I have been so inundated with all kinds of things, I completely forgot!!!

Please come back within the next 24 hours and as I am having a GIVEAWAY/s!!!

It's going to be fun!!!!

Desolated wasteland

This morning I went to the Nature Reserve. For anyone who reads this blog, you will know it is one of my favorite places to go. I felt I needed some "rejuvenation for the spirit". This place reconnects me with nature, it inspires me, uplifts me and brings me great joy.

Recently we had a devastating fire here which ravaged through the nature reserve, forests and destroyed 10 houses. I had not been to the nature reserve since this fire.

So today, I Went, driving in, it looked the same as always, lush and green grass with all the oak trees loosing their leaves in their autumn splendor. Such a pretty sight.

I put my back pack, armed with camera, juice and provisions (hee hee) and set off on a walk up the mountain.
I must say I wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted me...


Black as far as the eye could see.
I felt a bit sad walking up the mountain....but to see the new green shoots pushing to the surface, made me feel good, knowing there is hope after such devastation and knowing nature has a wonderful ability to self-heal. By Spring hopefully it will be looking a lot better!



see all the green shoots around me?
Anyway just wanted to share..I am off to read the latest copy of Country living...my favorite mag!! Enjoy your weekend!!

Progress

The saga continues...

The stripey blanket...

30 double rows later (60 single rows) 60cm width

Still going...I only get time to do about 4-6 double rows a day, so at this rate It's going to be ages!! But I enjoy it and it's relaxing, so I don't mind.

Since it is Autumn here, we are having cooler days and colder nights, so It's nice to sit with the bulk of the blanket on me while I crochet!

This last color on the blanket the red one, is called "tomatoe" it is gorgeous! I am not a big fan of red, but this is such a lovely red. As you can see, my blanket is not following any particular order or color pattern. I am going with the flow and as I see it's about time to repeat a certain color, I do. It's definitely a "rainbow" blanket, but it makes me happy!!


The season is changing and the weather is getting colder. I wanted to add some warmer textures to my room, so while I was at it, I added some blue. (normally I have a pink and white rose-pattern duvet and a rose-pattern throw over my couch in my room...

So now it's a blue and pink theme and I LOVE it. A big blue woolen blanket and a smaller crocheted one to sit and snuggle on my couch for those cold days when I sip coffee and read or crochet or try catch some rays of sunshine.

The blue matches my blue walls and the pink spring tree with the bluebirds I painted.
Change is good....
I am so excited!!!! My 5th Blogaversary is coming up! wow, 5 years!!!

Please come back in 5 days I am having a GIVEAWAY!!!
Here is what I gave away last year.

Bunting swap

Thanks to Amy for hosting the Spring Bunting swap. I received mine this morning! It is gorgeous. I just don't know where to hang it!!

Take a look at some of the gorgeous pieces these ladies did...










Thanks to all the ladies that participated!!

A crafty weekend...

It was a crafty weekend...

First of all I had to help my daughter make a bird feeder for school...


And then we made a Bingo game together...{and played it!}


And later on when the kids were in bed, I fancied making another set!






Last night we had the most spectacular sunset...
(unedited photos!)





What did you do this past weekend?

NEW:Digital, freebie and NSD!!!

I made these digital journal cards quite a long time ago, but never got around to putting them up for sale. So Finally I have!

These cards are in JPEG format only, printable 300DPI sheets for your personal use in your scrap booking and other projects.

only $3.89 for two sheets -a total of 17 cards.
You can buy them here or here

And because it's NSD, here is a FREE one for your personal use.

Right click and save to your computer!

Happy NSD!!

Scrap booking sets

It's Friday! whew....looking forward to sleeping in a bit tomorrow and not waking up when its still dark!

I have put some new goodies in my store.
They are very limited, so you might want to grab quick if you like!
21 or 22 piece scrap booking sets! Everything you need {in the way of embellishments) to make a lovely scrap book page or a double spread. (or some cards) The fabric roses could even be turned into brooches. The crochet flowers, fabric roses and paper flowers are all made my me.




In other cool news, I have a catalog now in which you can browse and order from.
You can download it HERE.

And this month's May PDF of my new products (detailed information and close up photos) you can download HERE.

The catalog comes with an order form, but if you just want the order form on it's own you can download it here

All links are available from my store page too.


Roberta...this is for you. I wanted to show you my fridge. My fridge looks like a cupboard. The top part is painted with magnetic chalk board paint.
{the empty side panel is supposed to have little shelves for wine..but at some stage I am redoing my kitchen, so we are just leaving it until we redo the kitchen}


I hope you have a fantastic weekend!!