A spurt of inspiration…

Today is the start of the school holidays – in one way I love the relaxed time with no early starts and lots of family time, but in other ways I loathe the chaos of mess and constant dirty dishes and lack of routine. My quiet time gets put on hold and it becomes a bit crazy at times. We have made no grand plans to do anything this holiday as it always seems that when we do, all hell breaks loose and our time gets taken by other dramas that unfold. This holiday we just plan to BE and see how it unfolds!!

I have made a few exciting purchases on ebay of late – a sewing machine that is almost brand new for a quarter of its new price, and a cupboard to store my art supplies in for a whopping amount of 99c. I have been inundated with creative ideas that are just flowing so I have my little notebook and pen with me all the time now to jot things down. I have been praying for awhile now, asking God to download ideas and Blueprints to me – I need to work next year and I have no desire to teach again so I am scrambling for an idea. I have been down this road before with no success so I won’t share anymore until things are working and happening except to say that God seems to be downloading amazing ideas to me. Time will tell – in the meantime I am working hard to make it a reality.

The other joy in my day is that we have sunshine – yes that little ball of warmth is making an appearance although it comes and goes – my delight is that we will probably have a warmer summer this year – Yay!!

Ikea have opened a new megastore quite near to us and so I hope to have a trip there this holiday – I love browsing and getting ideas in home stores and Ikea has incredibly good ideas.

Awhile ago I posted about my laundry makeover – well I have been very silent since then because after the big clean up things got worse than ever!! It got to the point where I so hated my laundry. I could barely get in the door because this is what confronted me :

• four baskets of clean washing overflowing onto the floor
• A pile almost to the ceiling of dirty washing squashed between the deep freeze and the wash basin.
• A counter top also full of clean but unfolded laundry
• three standing fans that took up way too much space
• A car seat
• numerous empty boxes
• A bag of old clothing waiting to go to the opshop
• a vacuum cleaner
• A clothes drying rack

Yes I am ashamed to say it was so bad I refused to even take a before photo – it was worse than when I snapped it for my last post – heehee – that is a little embarrassed laugh.

My saving grace the other day was the power cut we had – I couldn’t blog or surf the net or do anything really except CLEAN THE LAUNDRY. It took me four hours to sort through that lot and I think I am reformed now – I don’t ever want to go through that again. To keep me motivated I painted a picture to hang up in there so that it is a bit more of a pleasant place. This is my painting of  “Laundry day in Africa”.

Laundry neat and tidy!! Long may it last!!

Hubby has had his own spurt of inspiration – the spring weather has had him planting our new Kitchen Garden – tubs and containers full of salad greens and veggies. Looks like we will be having lettuce, tomato, capsicums, egg plants, beans, peas, chillis, spinach, basil and my most favourite coriander!! He has worked very hard to get this happening and Aaron loves to water the garden each day.

All things Farmy…

Aaron loves going to the creche kindergarten while I am at gym. He gets about an hour of play in an environment that is stimulating and different to home. Yesterday they had brought in some farm animals for the children to feed and touch – it was a lovely experience for him – he particularly enjoyed the little pig, calf and goat. He had great fun petting the animals and when I arrived after gym (smelling a bit like a farm animal myself I might add!!) he insisted on showing me the animals before we left. Here are a few photos I snapped on my phone!

I have wanted to paint a cow in ages and I’ve wanted to paint a red barn too so decided to incorporate it all into one  painting. Here is my painting called “Daisy and the Red Barn” – really a simple but colourful acrylic – sometimes I wish I were more a detail person but I’m not – I guess God knows that I would just get irritated trying to put in fine detail. I discovered that painting cows is not so easy after all – took me a while before I was satisfied with this girl!!

From the farmhouse kitchen we have a yummy granola snack that comes from Amber’s  blog at Making a Home. This recipe is so easy and quick and tasty so thanks Amber. I will print the recipe here but be sure to check out Amber’s blog at makingahome-pa.blogspot.com

This is what you do:

Heat 6 Tbsp of veggie oil, 2/3 cup honey, and 2 Tbsp water in a sauce pan on medium heat. Bring to a slow boil. Turn off heat and add 2 tsp vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 4 cups rolled oats, 2 cups of rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies, 1 cup wheat germ (although you can leave this out which I did), 4 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well until completely coated.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir and then bake another 15 minutes.
Let cool, and then you can add dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips. I added some walnut pieces and choc chips – so good!!

Store your granola in an airtight container. This recipe makes two cookie sheets full. Watch granola as it bakes as it can burn easily. Lastly ENJOY!! I particularly enjoy a small cup of natural greek yoghurt (my most favourite yoghurt)  with some crunchy granola sprinkled on top – a crunchy tasty snack or breakfast!

I’m not quite sure what it is about farms that capture me – perhaps because I lived on a farm when I was very young – I remember big adventures as a little child, blossom trees in spring and daffodils, the smell of pine trees, animals and the freedom to enjoy the open space and air. I definitely have a bit of farm girl in me – I love the country and always have. The idea of chickens running around and a couple of dogs is very appealing to me. We have had our odd times of living on a farm – we rented a farmhouse when the children were little – Michaela was 4 and Ethan was 2 and Zoe a newborn and we really loved our time there. Looking out across the fields at the mountains in the distance was always  breathtaking to me.

Now we are living the city life but I still always look for a property that has a large garden and  is close to the country – a few minutes drive for us now. These are the views we have of the countryside nearby.

All in all God has been faithful to us and all my boxes have been ticked – aren’t we blessed?

On the study front it is all happening – I have begun my Graphic design and desktop publishing course – it is very exciting and I can see that I am going to be challenged but I am so looking forward to it!

Have a blessed weekend everyone!!

new painting

Today I painted my first painting not only for 2010 but also the first painting in Melbourne. I felt creative this morning and decided to go for it and paint today. It was  quite a big painting and once I started  I didn’t want to stop till I had finished it. At least I think it is finished – often I go back to my paintings and add to them.

This is a very vibrant painting – the colours are eye-catching and very uplifting which is what I was aiming for. Although I took artistic licence and added the bougainvilla I have always dreamed of visiting Greece one day and so this will be my prophetic reminder each day as I look at the painting. I have chairs that have loose cushions in my dining room and I aim to cover them in an equally vibrant fabric with ties so that they match this painting. Will show you the room when it is done.

This gives you an idea of the size of the painting.

Children’s Drawers makeover

 

I decided to tackle the kids drawers and give them a fun look for their room. The drawers were rather tatty but still are in fairly good condition. Awhile ago I bought a pair of Roman Blinds for their windows, because the rental home curtains were really uninspiring. I managed to find these blinds for $1.

I love the diamond pattern and so I decided to do a harlequin pattern on the front of the drawers.

I simply wiped the drawers down before I started painting ( I always look for shortcuts). Then I had a diamond template which I used to put the diamonds on the drawers. Threw on some masking tape and got M15 to help with the painting which made it go extra fast.

 

 

As you can see I decided to paint the top the same teal blue. I used a testpot of paint which cost very little and I decided not to use a typical bright blue like the blinds because, firstly,I already had this testpot of paint and secondly, I didn’t want it looking so bright that it was an eyesore.

Then I painted the rest with a cream paint that I mixed a hint of yellow into to give it a pale creamy yellow colour.

 

To finish it off with a fun element, I painted a number on each drawer.

This was a very cheap makeover as I already had testpots of paint that were given to me and the drawers cost me $10 off Trade Me.

Doing these drawers has motivated me to do a complete makeover in this bedroom. It is a small room that Z9 and A3 share and it is not the nicest room in the home. The wallpaper is horrible and there is not much space to store things. Because we rent the home I can’t paint the shelves and walls, but I am going to take this as a challenge and see what I can do without spending a whole lot. Watch this space….

Dresser Makeover

Today I was feeling very creative and so I decided to strike while the iron was hot. I have tackled another makeover project on a set of drawers that I bought off trade me for $6. These drawers had huge potential, so I thought, and I loved the handles and the little legs.

 

A quick coat of paint and they look totally different – I love the new look. This is how it looked before, although the photo looks better than it actually did.

 

 

This is how it looked after a coat of paint. I didn’t even have to buy the paint – a friend gave me her leftover testpots as she knows I like to paint. How’s that for a thrifty makeover?

 

These handles are so cute!!

 

 

There was even beautiful vintage paper lining the drawers – think I will keep it.

 

 

I am going to put this piece in my dining room and use the cupboards and drawers to store crockery and cutlery as my grocery cupboard is tiny in my kitchen. I am desperate to paint my wooden dining table, but hubby is dead against it, so will have to wait till he changes his mind. Hopefully all my makeovers will make him realise that I am right of course!!! (just kidding)

After moving the furniture around a number of times in the dining room I realise that this will not work as it is too low and the table overshadows it, so onto plan number 2. I have put it in my hallway and placed some items on top of it – looks much better here. The wooden candlesticks are another trade me find – I bought them for $10. I took my old wooden mirror and quickly painted it a colour I mixed – I have no idea what this colour is because it was quite dark today due to the weather, so I will only really get to see it tomorrow properly. I painted the frame of the mirror and rubbed it to get a distressed look. Hubby asked me why I don’t paint things properly – he has no clue about distressed furniture. That’s probably why he won’t let me paint the table!!!

 

 

This is what it looks like.

To finish off the look I painted “Welcome” across the mirror to add a fun element!

 

Express yourself through paint

I love art – any kind and form – I appreciate beautiful buildings, paintings and sculpture. Colour is one of the most amazing things to me – that God could give us a world that is a palette filled with incredible colours is precious to me. As a result I love art in my home, however it is not always affordable. I have always believed that anyone can learn to paint or express themselves creatively if they know a few techniques and “rules” about drawing and perspective. My eldest daughter M14, always said she couldn’t draw, however after a year of art at school and some basic knowledge, she has discovered she not only loves art but is actually quite good at it. Well the good news is that anyone can do art for their own home that is affordable, fun and you don’t even have to be able to draw well either. In some ways there are no rules in art – what you like goes. The country I lived in previously did not sell stretched canvasses at the local store and canvas was very expensive, so my art was limited. Now I am able to walk into the local family store and buy ready stretched canvas at a very affordable price. The sky’s the limit!!  Over the next while I will give you some ideas on how to create art works that are fun, colourful, easy and affordable. In the meantime, enjoy some of my work that I have posted here for you to see.