Sunny days and a sunny day dress.

 

How can it be November already?

Where did all of October go? Am I missing time or did it really fly by?

We have had some very "Melbourne" weather lately (you know, four seasons in one day), with cold, grey misery sitting right next to gorgeous warmth and azure skies.

I love Melbourne, but I do wish it would make up it's mind!

 

 

 

I'm not complaining though because last weekend  we enjoyed some glorious sunshine, and despite having to do a whole lotta cleaning and mowing ( I may or may not have fecked up the mower by inadvertently mowing over an old tree stump. Doh!), I also got to frock up in my new to me 70's $4.99 dress.

 

 

Yeah you better believe me, it just doesn't get better than a frock for less than a fiver!

It is the loveliest sand colour with bright pops of pink, light blue and green, and a swirly skirt with lining so I don't even have to wear a petticoat. Of course I teamed it with some hot pink but I couldn't resist wearing my new  freebie blue beads for a little contrast.

 

 

Talking of sand, park your peepers on that gorgeous, fluffy sand.

Sunday was so beautiful the kidlets and I had to (it would have been rude not to!) go the beach for a walk and a frolic.

 

 

We basked in the rays,

 

 

collected the odd things that get washed up,

 

 

and admired (or were repulsed by) the jelly fish.

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure the seagulls were having a jelly fish feast. Do seagulls eat jelly fish?

 Hmmmm?

 

 

The little black dog and the boy ran and ran until they could run no more.

 

 

 

 

 

Hurry up weekend!

Have you got anything lovely planned for your weekend?

Nothing cures the blues like the pinks!

I've picked myself up off the floor after having the mother of all hissy fits.

Oh, it wasn't pretty with much wallowing, gnashing teeth, puffy face and curse words that would make a dock worker blush. (I have a  rather extensive curse word vocabulary I am embarrassed to say. Comes in handy sometimes.)

But after self medicating with a healthy dose of vodka and perspective I am ready to put on my big girls blouse and be an adult, (gulp!) and face what may come. I will probably whinge and moan a lot but hey, baby steps right?

Seen as a whole, the big picture can seem so daunting, so overwhelming, so I have  broken down all my worries so I can face each individual issue. And then they appear a little more manageable.

And some worries I've boxed up and hidden away in a dusty recess of my mind, where hopefully they will be forgotten, like algebra and the periodic table, never to be noticed again.

And some problems just need a little spin on them.

Why fret over the hubby, lying prone in the middle of the lounge. Throw a pretty rug over him and pretend he is a new decor item like a giant ottoman.

Don't stress over the fate of my career. I have always wanted to join the circus. Perhaps now is the perfect opportunity!

Yes I am being flippant, but I had to get out of my vicious head funk.

My head was doing my head in!

Halloween perked me up no end despite it not being a big deal over here. (One day!)

We had a Halloween special event at work which was a hoot with most of my lovely elderly residents being good sports and donning witches hats and perfecting their ghoulish cries and crone cackles.

I chose to be Queen of the Spiders and put up with my wig giving me that "spider crawling on my skin" feeling all day.

So worth it!

 

Yum!

This vintage frock cheered me up too.

So deliciously pink, you can't help but feel brightened when wearing it.

And doesn't my newly op shopped hot pink bag go perfectly?

 

I can't believe I have only worn this dress twice before. I was always totally stumped by my lack of either pink or blue heels to match.

Um, duh! (Smacks the head!)

Beige heels! Of course!

 

The neckline is adorable.

 

And with the dresses little splashes of blue to coordinate with, my blue cardigan was brought into the picture in case all of that pink got out of control.

 

You can thank the filter Lomo for this nuclear pink shade!

I'd like to thank everyone who spared a kind word for a down in the dumps girl - you all perked me up and picked me up from my doldrums.

Cheers!

Waiting.......

 

I'm waiting, Waiting for something big. Huge even.

A decision that will shape my future. Perhaps turn my world up side down.

Fearing the worst. But hoping for the best.

I have been trying positive visualisations. Trying prayers. Trying deals with higher powers.

Trying, trying, trying.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

I'm still waiting. Dreading. Hoping. Worrying. Yearning.

Crossing fingers (and eyes and toes!).

Contemplating what changes may come. Remembering so fondly what has been.

I hate waiting! Ggggrrrrrr!

Filling in time. Pacing. Shopping. Spending money I don't have.

Eating. Getting VERY grouchy with everyone. 

 

Posing.

I did have some luck at the op shops during my time wasting shopping jaunts with me scoring new beads, a bag and blouses.

 

 

 

Whilst always happy when I am blessed with a great treasure haul this time I kind of wish I could have saved my luck for what I really need. And what I am waiting for.

Others could sense my desperation (just look at that weird pinched look on my face!) as lovely people kept offering me freebies. The lovely blue beads were kindly given to me by the elderly lady that manned a charity shop.

That bastard time keeps taunting me. Tick tock. Mock, mock. mock.

I have even cleaned to try and kill some of that bloody time.

I have wandered and meandered through all of the what ifs and the maybes, stumbling over all the possibilities. Why do things have to change?

I hate waiting.........

 

And now the waiting is over.

And the news is not good.

And all I want now is to be waiting again.



Half hat how-to

 

So instead of writing an essay like I should have been, I decided to whip up another felt vintage style half hat.

This time I decided to do a little how-to so if any one else feels like tackling one of these little beauties they can.

Now, when I craft I usually find it essential to have an endless supply of tea (or vodka if it is a really difficult project) at hand, some good TV and an area to make a really good mess. All these things are optional, but vodka does make everything better.

OK,  ready? I'll wait while you go and gather the following materials;

 

- felt in  whatever colour or colours of your choice,

- scissors,

- pencil,

- something circular to use as a template for the circles. I used the very handy 20c, 10c and 5c pieces I had in my purse (pretty much all I had in my purse!),

- dressmakers chalk pencil (if you don't mind leaving permanent marks on the felt you could use a pen or marker),

- paper or card to trace your base template,

- millinery wire or any type of fine wire,

- hair clips to secure hat to your head,

- hot glue gun or craft glue.

 

I used scraps of felt from other projects so this little job didn't even cost anything, but felt is very cheap (and very forgiving!) so the project shouldn't put you out too much anyway.

 

 

Have you heard about how many germs are meant to be on money? Don't think about it! That's the key. The head in the sand idea works for me for so many things.

 

Lets begin! Get tracing people! I just traced and cut out those wee circles in the three different sizes like a mad woman whilst watching "Oddities" and dreaming of having a cool weird shop like that one day.

 

Each flower requires 5 circles (but you could double up each petal with a larger on the bottom and smaller on top).Grab a petal, fold it over so the open end is towards you, pinch, and thread that needle through. I like to go through twice on the first petal just to be sure. Repeat with all of your petals until you have all 5 strung together, then fiddle around until they are all tightly squished together in a flower like shape and then tie off the thread.

 

Look! Felt flowers!

 

For the base you will need to create a template on paper. I measured my head and drew up a shape that I was happy with but you can make any shape you like. Go crazy! I don't have an enormous head and only wanted a half hat style so my piece measured 7 inches long and about 3.5 inches at its widest.

Trace and cut 2 base pieces in felt. 

Bend the wire so that it fits about 1cm in from edge of a piece of the felt and tack it down

 

Play around and position your flowers until you are satisfied with the placement and then start sewing them on to the piece of wired felt (opposite side to the wire though). The flowers just need a couple of stitches through the centres where you won't really see them.

 

We are getting close people. Almost done!

 

I added some green felt leaves for some contrast because I love purple and green together.

 

Grab your other piece of felt and place it over your wired piece and then stitch down around the very edge. You could do this bit before you add the flowers as it is a lot easier without the petals getting in the way, bit then you are left with all the flower stitches showing through. I am still trying to come up with a solution for that conundrum. Any ideas?

Now all you need to do is glue down small rectangles of felt to keep the clips in place. A blob on either end of each rectangle should do the trick. I find that this type of clip really holds the hat in place rather than alligator clips, but then I have super fine hair and nothing stays in my hair!

 

 Once the glue has dried clip in place and admire your handy work.

 

Easy peasy!

I may add some beads to the centre of each flower but that is a task for another day when I have completed this bloody essay. (Can you tell I am a champion procrastinator?)

Good luck and please let me know if you decide to give this project a try. I'd love to see your results!)

 

 

Coping and capes

 

Where has the time gone?

The past two weeks have been a little crazy in my life and I am feeling very over it all.

My husband has been laid low with a flare up of an old back injury, his dreaded nemesis  the bulging disc wrecking havoc on his health.

Now, when I say he has been laid low, I really mean really laid low. The poor man has been flat on his back on the floor in the lounge room and hasn't been able to sit or stand for more than a minute without excruciating agony for the past two weeks. I think he has left a body imprint in our flooring it has been so long since he has budged.

I do feel very sorry for my big fella, but bloody hell it had been difficult to shoulder the burden of the household by myself. I find myself having to tackle all of those manly tasks like spider chasing, rubbish removal and heavy lifting as well as fitting in all of my normal mothering duties, cooking, cleaning, work etc and already I am sick of it and my time seems to have become non existent.

Hats off to all those single parents that somehow manage to cope with it all because I am floundering.

And unfortunately stress does terrible things to me and I cope by eating and worrying. Very helpful mechanisms I know.

And equally unfortunate is how I look when I am stressed. Saying that the pasty, unkempt and spotty look is unattractive is a gross understatement so even if I had the time to take some outfit shots you most definitely would not want to have seen them. Trust me, I am doing you a big favour.

 

 

Anyway, today I could take it no more and I braved the rain and escaped to quickly fit in a bit of me time when I was meant to be grocery shopping. Dressing up again, hitting the op shops and scoffing a salted caramel macaroon  did the trick beautifully and I think I am restored and rejuvenated once more.

 

 

 

A girl can be wonderfully cheered up by some gorgeous vintage gloves, a capelet and my new to me red bag. (And salted caramel macaroon's! Oh yeah!)

 

 

By the way is it just me or does everyone like to flap their arms madly when they are wearing a cape and imagine they are birds? Or bats? Or superman?

 

 

 

 

Or is it just me?

 

 

Does anyone have any real tips on managing stress besides macaroons?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Lost and found

 

 

I am ashamed to say that I often "lose" clothing in the black hole that is my wardrobe.

I imagine a Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe style wardrobe that somehow hides bits and pieces of clothing in a far off land but the truth is more likely that my unworn, unloved clothes fall from their cramped hangers, limping off to die in a dark corner surrounded by dust bunnies.

I rediscovered a couple of pieces in the abyss (and behind a chair and under the bed) and vowed that for a while I would try and wear all of my found pieces. Give them a little love. Show them a good time.

 

Aha! I knew I had a mustard yellow cardigan!

 

Yep, pretty chuffed with my matchy- matchiness!

 

I was feeling a bit dark and moody but am so happy I found this op shopped petticoat style skirt languishing at the bottom of the wardrobe.

 

 

Did someone say languishing? Yeah, this is what I do instead of doing homework and housework like I probably should. Lazy wench.

 

There is that same Dangerfield skirt again but at least I found this lovely  teal op shopped cardigan at the bottom of a drawer to pair it with. And oh look! My velvet (possible knitting) bag goes perfectly.

And I did give them a good time. We had some great times, did some stuff.

Due to the unfortunate and untimely demise of my fave op shop (or happy place as I like to call it), Savers, I have had to venture further out and revisit some other thrifty havens.

And as if to console me in my desolate and bereft Saver-less state, these other shops have been really paying out and I have been finding some divine goodies to cramp my wardrobe even further.

 

I did it! I bought something in brown! Two things in fact! I know that with the warmer weather coming this amazing coat with its luscious fur collar is totally seasonally inappropriate but as we all know, you have to grab those bargains when you find them. And for $12 it was a complete bargain.

 

 

 And don't you love the stunning bowls case. It even still has the owners name written in it and their rubbing cloth in the bottom.

I also found this amazing dress that needs a little tweaking at the same store as the coat.

 

Yep, in real life those colours are just as loud and crazy as in the pictures. Maybe louder.

You are definitely not going to miss me in this frock!

 

I can't wait to take this one in and then take her out.

 

Another vintage hand bag because I really needed another (like a hole in the head!).

 

And finally this gorgeous hat. Which I haven't quite figured out yet. Is this the front?

 

Or is this the front? Any ideas?

Actually I guess it doesn't really matter because I love it either way!