'... and I think to myself ... what a wonderful world'

The late great Louis Armstrong crooned 'what a wonderful world' ... and I pretty much have the same sentiments. My world is pretty wonderful at the moment and so is my garden. The summer rains have been most welcome & the garden is bursting with colour & song as the birds compete with each other. I love birds & their chirping & chattering ... except when they get going from 4am though!!! We have such an abundant bird life & even have a peacock & guinea fowl that have made themselves at home. My favourite time of the day to enjoy the garden is either early morning on a weekend ... when everyone is still asleep as I sip my coffee on the patio watching all the birds or at sunset ... having a sundowner with my sidekick watching the birds & if we are lucky enough a buck or two that wander down to the dam. Yep ... I am one lucky gal & I am thankful for my many blessings. Here are a few pics of the garden I thought you may enjoy ...

A glimpse of the patio. I planted up this basket about a month ago & am so chuffed at how nicely it has turned out! (one can blow one's own horn occasionally)

We have 3 lay hens ... this is Miss Erin holding Maddy




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(oops ... 'scuse the ladder)

   

These are my salad & herb planters that my very clever sidekick made for me. They are outside the kitchen door for easy access so I don't have to traips to the veggie garden every time when lazy it's dark!





Now ... some news! We have an addition to the family. Let me introduce Lily

She is only 6 weeks & is the cutest little thing. She still has that puppy smell & of course Miss E is totally in love with her. The only downside is the waking up at night to let a crying Lily out to do her business in the garden. We have to keep a close eye on her as the owls would see her as a tasty snack! So from a sleep deprived state I bid you farewell & wish you all a good start to the week!

Gifts from the Heart ... and a great day out!

"It is better to give than to receive" ... I don't know where that quote comes from BUT I'm not quite sure I agree. I love giving but receiving feels pretty darn good too don't ya think! So onto the giving & the pretty good feeling you give the person who receives it too. I love making quick little gifts that I place in my "creations box" for those moments when you want to add to a gift, have forgotton someone's birthday & need something quick to give or simply for an impromptu gift to make someone feel extra special. Of course as mentioned before this box also holds those items that I don't really need myself or can't even use but simply don't want to part with ... pretty sure there is some psychologist out there that would have a field day with that BUT once again I digress ... I love making this fridge calender which is a really quick, easy gift that friends really love. They simply stick a jumbo photo (10x15cm / 4x6") onto the calender which can be replaced during the year & place it onto the fridge. It has monthly calender tear off pages & of course magnets on the back. I always have one on my fridge & it makes a really cute gift to give at christmas time or to start the year with. Also great to give to teachers at the end of the year.

Another great gift idea are the Tilda hearts which I have fun with using all sorts of scraps & even scent them with essential oils ...

Another great feeling other than giving & receiving is I hate to admit it ... buying stash!!! (furtively looks around for that lurking psychologist). Yesterday I spent a glorious Saturday with my like-minded sister doing not bar hopping but quilt shop hopping. Sighs in ecstacy! All those fabrics ... spending hours stroking, admiring & contemplating what to buy. Day dreaming about what projects & creations to turn those gorgeuos fabrics into. Wondering about what course to do next that is on offer ... and as much as I love my sidekick, best of all is being able to spend ages deciding on what fabrics to buy without him waiting in the car or even worse keeping an eye on me in the shop anxiously checking his watch & wallet!!! I wonder if anyone out there has the same experience :-). I am fortunate however as Mr E or as I fondly like to call him ... my sidekick ... supports all my addictions to my crafts with utmost patience & though he may not quite ooh & aah as much as I would like & may not quite understand how I can spend quite so much time choosing fabrics & notions is also my greatest fan & is very enthusiastic about all my creations!!! After buying all our lovely goodies my sister & I ended the day with pizza & wine at a cute little place. Could this day have got any better ... oh yes ... don't you just love arriving home with your purchases & admiring them all over again!!!

It's Not How Much You Do ... But How Much LOVE You Put in the Doing!

How CUTE is this Little Munchkin on her FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL in GRADE 1?

Perhaps the reason for the 'NOT HOW MUCH YOU DO' ... coz I sure aint gettin much craftin & sewin done around here. But it is a small price to pay. The first week back at school is a wee bit crazy & it does take a week or two to get back into routine! So while I am champing at the bit & rearing to go on new crafting & sewing projects here is a little snippet of some scrapbooking I did a while back ...

As you can see in the detail I love combining my love for sewing in my scrapbooking & usually always add some stitching, buttons or even fabric!

To end off a little something to add a smile to your day 'scraplifted' from my sister ...

ok ... just couldn't resist adding this one ...

Well at least someone has been busy making things ...;-)

BAG IT ...

Have you ever made a gift for someone & then loved it so much you couldn't give it away! My daughter was going to her friends birthday party the next day & I decided in the evening to make a little extra something to add to the gift. My sidekick was away on business & Little Miss E had just gone to bed ... YAY ... me time to sew! First of course I had to spend ages roaming blogland for cute tutorials & needless to say got sidetracked a couple of times by gorgeous creations by inspirational bloggers. BUT eventually came across Ayumi's ( from Pink Penguin) cute lunch bag tutorial found here. Music on, time to myself, cute bag to make ... heaven! Well close ... add the chocolate & it would be seventh heaven (wonders to self what heavens one to six are about)! Hmmm ... while I am discussing chocolate I have a confession to make ... I am an absolute chocoholic & have huge cravings for the damn stuff. I have even been caught with my hand in my daughters sweet jar ... not a pretty picture I know! BUT I digress ... back to sewing. I had such fun sewing up this little bag. I used a pink check for the lining, the cutest girly princess fabric for the main bag & a pink star fabric for the handles etc. You see ... that's why you can never have enough stash because you just may need it for an impulsive project. Feel much better now that I have justified my other craving!!! Well, after completing the bag around 2am I was most impressed with myself & spent ages admiring my handiwork. Funny that ... was wondering where Miss E gets her lack of modesty. But isn't it lovely when you sew something & everything goes right ... no unstitching ... no cursing ... (of course I don't do that she says as she adjusts her slipping halo)! Well I thought it turned out sooooo well & looked soooo cute that I couldn't bear to part with it & justified my very bad behaviour by telling myself that the six year old friend couldn't possibly appreciate this little hand made bag. Yup ... I bagged it instead. Better to buy her a little extra something. I know ... quite terrible ... but looking at it as I write this blog I am oh so pleased that I still have this little creation to inspire me! Thanks Ayumi & all the crafty ladies who generously share their tutorials!

IT NEVER RAINS ... BUT POURS

No seriously ... being a horticulturist I am always wishing for rain for my nursery plants ... but really ... the big guy up there got the message wrong or the gremlins are laughing their heads off. Yesterday we had a HUGE storm ... I mean humungous (arms stretched out wide). The whole shebang ... thunder, lightening, hail stones & rain & rain & rain. Staying in a thatched farm house is all great & wonderful until a massive thunderstorm has you running for buckets & towels. Of course as Murphy would have it I had a leak on the shelf above my sewing table ... my precious Tilda books got wet (flash to Lord of the Rings Baynesfield... Smee Erica rocking back & forth hugging the ring wet Tilda books & muttering "my precious" ... ok ... not so bad but still ranking up there). Alas also the VERY temperamental wireless internet connection went running into hiding at the first drops of rain. Living in a rural area is such fun ... most of the time. So my blog entry did not happen last night due to "an act of nature". A day late but better late than never ...

My ambitions from little old me for my "Sew So Crafty" blog is to be able to share my passions with like minded people who appreciate what goes into hand crafted creations. Of course the ultimate would be for my creations & crafts to be wildly in demand & become a small sideline business (the violins stop playing ... the mist suddenly clears & my backside hurts like hell as I come down to earth with a bang!) BUT ... one can dream & when one dreams, possibilities are endless!

As promised another peek at one of my creations held up by little Miss E ...

In payment for holding up my quilt, Little Miss E asked me to take a photo of her showing off her new tap shoes. Just to inform you that these days child labour has their own union with lots of terms & conditions. So in fulfilling said terms ... here is the aspiring dancer who has been driving us mad tapping away since she laid eyes on these tappy heel shoes. We also have been informed after viewing the umpteenth performance that ... "I am very good of tap dancing!" ... modesty is not her shortcoming!

Once upon a time ...

Once upon a time in blogland ... on the 9th of January 2012 to be precise, there was a very happy & excited newbie blogger. For she had at long last found the magic door & entered into blogland! Ok ... you can rewind the disney intro BUT seriously I am SEW very excited to have finally got my A into G and taken the first steps into blogland ... and can already cross off an entry from my 2012 New Year's To Do List ...YAY (doing the happy dance again).

So to begin with intros ... I am a young lady at heart, energetic, scrapaholic, quiltaholic, craft junkie with a passion for plants and lucky to have found a great guy as a sidekick & have an energetic little 6 year old 6½ year old big girl that keeps me on my toes. Sew ... in a nutshell ... sew much to do & sew little time to do it in. Fortunately my passion for plants is fulfilled during the day as I am a horticulturist and co-own a nursery. I grow all the plants I want to & also love landscaping & pottering about in my garden. My passion for crafts is fortunately for my finances limited to scrapbooking & sewing in what little spare time I have available. Hopefully all you lovely crafters out there can vouch for me & I can have it in print that I am not the only crafter that has the affliction of never having enough stash (hee hee). Do you ever guiltily rush into the house after a shopping spree & quickly hide your new lovely stash amongst the old stuff to disguise it? "Oh this old stuff" you blush, crossing your fingers behind your back ... okay maybe not quite so bad but you get the picture I'm sure! Oh yes ... somewhere in there is me also desperately trying to juggle my time to stay fit & in shape (note to self ... the treadmill is your friend!!!)

Now for a brief look at a few of my "sew so crafty" creations that I have whisked (yeah right) into life lately ...



Tilda Bunny

Tilda Doll

Bunny Cushion

Due to my bloggery inexperience, apologies for the quality & technical ability ... we can only hope it improves with time as the mere fact that I am actually blogging & up & running is quite an achievement! Tomorrow I shall let you have a peek at a few more of my creations & put in writing for all to see what my "sew so crafty" ambitions are for this year so that I am committed ... hmmm ... maybe that will work for the exercising as well ... nah ... bad idea!

I bid you adieu for now, as there is a tired little girl that needs to be tucked up into bed & a big girl that has her sewing machine calling her ...