early morning...

it is crack of dawn early, Rachelle arrived late monday, Cath arrives later today, i am sitting here in 'night attire' surrounded by a shed in all its granny chic wonder and digging deep within the recesses of my little cogs to come up with the right spiffy words for certain points within the book.

the most 'love you like no other' peachy bark cloth i have ever come across

i know those words will be found, they always do, they just play hard to get on some days. whilst looking for them, i might go out in my nightie and clogs into the yard, stand in the rain and do a 'not too sunny but not blimen raining' dance in the hope of someone up above seeing me in my glorious brightly embroidered thrift store 'get-up' and shine down on us for the next 2 days

taken before the rains came

in a bit, probably still with thinking caps on but no nighties, just nice handmade frocks, Rachelle and moi will be off to the thrift store. could not have her fly all this way and keep her in the shed doing only book stuff! the next few days will be full of photo taking and styling so this morning, we will play hooky from the book(y).

for playing hooky will be good for our granny chic souls and our little tired cogs which appear to be needing a little oiling... and nothing gets those cogs going quite like a pottle amongst the shelves of despair

Tif

Girl Crush Seattle & a 'small' note...

on friday i headed across the bridge to the big city to set up Girl Crush Seattle with the peachy Danielle and the 'always peachy' Assemble Shop. i managed to snap a few 'snappy snaps' of which you can peruse below, scattered amongst the ramble...

after which i came home and paced and pottled and fretted about my talk.

then Our #3 wisely pointed out how hard can it be? i was having to talk about myself, nothing to learn and remember new, just everything inside of my head and my experiences. well that little bit of wisdom was a tremendous help and i went to bed super duper early at 9:53am to be exact. slept like a log but a log who has very vivid dreams as is the norm for moi. none of the dreams woke me so that meant a good nights sleep like a log as far as i was concerned.

i awoke fresh as a 43 and half year old daisy and decided my braids needed little bits of rag ribbon in them for good luck. i pinned on my 'little lucky bunny' badge gifted to me by Danielle the day before and once again (at precisely 8:17am) headed back across the bridge to begin our big artist tea party day.

oh and what a day it was.

instantly i was at ease meeting the other crushers. we sat around a large table and the day past in the blink of an eye. i must tell you i have never had such an opportunity to share my story and my insecurities before and one may think that is quite daunting to do, but not so, not when surrounded by others who all had something to share and in turn we all understood and then we pondered and we searched for solutions and sometimes, perhaps its true, solutions cannot be found at that particular moment but somehow i do not think that matters, for just knowing another understands, has the same fears or experiences is always a comfort...

the food was most delicious and in the afternoon we had cupcakes 'dottie angel' style kindly donated by Trophy Cupcakes of Seattle, i bought my little deer home from my cupcake to keep forever and ever to remind me of this wonderful amazing day.

later, around 4ish we started our art work. it is through Danielle inviting me to be part of her art tea parties that i have started my collage work again. and so i was most happy to spend a few hours with others, sticking and pasting with tongue slightly stuck out in concentration to produce a little bit of something which makes me happy. all of our pieces will be displayed at Assemble Shop which is tres lovely of Andie and Emily indeed. hip hip hooray for Andie and Emily!

i do not have pictures of the day, alas and alack i was in the thick of being part of it, but i do know fellow crushers have some, when and as i see them put online i will be sure to highlight them. chances are it will not be here but over on my facebook page so best to look there.

"where?" "there... there on the stairs, a little mouse with clogs on, well i declare, going clippity clop on the stairs"

(could not be helped)

and my talk? well yes of course the very thing that had me fretting, talking in public. i am delighted to report it went well. i did not require my note cards, i did manage to talk about myself and i think include most things and most importantly, no one fell asleep! so a success i would say.

my little bit of collage art created at Girl Crush Seattle

and on that spiffy note, i must tell you my 'small note', but 'oh so important' note. my lovely book writing buddy Rachelle, as i tippity tap this post, is in the air winging her way across the pond to visit for a whole week.

(breaking news just in, she is not in the air but stuck in a plane on the runway that won't go and told it could be a while, hours even before they take off. oh pants of the very big kind indeed)

we are beyond giddy, (not about the stuck plane and Rachelle in it obviously) we are besides ourselves. for next week is 'show time' for the book photographs. our photographer , the 'ever so lovely' Cath will be arriving on weds and we will start the task of snapping one half of the shots for the our Granny Chic book! it is quite the marvel i do believe, for Rachelle and myself have written this book through a common interest that has grown into an amazing friendship, resulting in a book to be published this autumn and what i think most amazing and which i do believe shows how extra ordinary it all is. until this evening, when i stand in arrivals at the airport waiting for her plane to arrive (eventually), until that moment, we have never actually met before and yet we feel like we have known each other all our lives... extra ordinary indeed.

Tif

footy note:

many thanks to all the lovely crushers who came on saturday, you are the bees knees indeed!

if you wish to find out if an artists day and tea party is happening in a city near you over the coming months than take a looky over here

Mondo & Mungo...

are fearless in the face of danger

be it around the world or in the bath tub.

they are very good at concerntrating in high winds

and they are a dab hand at climbing the rigging.

as they sail the seven seas in a clog boat made for two,

they squeak in the face of the enemy,

twitch at the possible dangers which lurk around every headland and plug hole,

and always carry a little bit of cheese for emergencies

Tif

a little string of miracles, please...

yesterday i experienced two little miracles.

the first miracle was baking a cake that not only looked like a cake but tasted like a cake

riding high from my peachy cake baking miracle ways i turned my thoughts to a frock i had cut out several weeks back from a lovely jolly peachy coral pink fabric found on the clearance pile in a most peachy fabric store, my peachy adopted auntie took me to.

(note a lot of peachiness going on around here today, one wonders if too much peachy is a bad thing, but then again, one never knows unless one tries it, so i have gone for maximum peachiness for that last bit)

my riding high ways were rewarded with a finished frock made from my dottie angel pattern cut from a length of old wallpaper. its an odd old thing, at the time of cutting it out i was rather fearful of wearing such a jolly peachy corally colour, fearing it was too bright, but now we have hit the 80's over the past few days, it appears to be most fitting to the hot afternoons along with a pair of clippity clogs. later as i sit upon the soccer 'tryout' sidelines i will be wearing my newly handmade frock with pride, feeling secure with the knowledge the handy dandy pockets will be holding my cotton hankie and lip salve, safe and sound

so today, i have woken with the hope of a whole string of little miracles to occur over the coming 2 weeks, for the next few weeks will be some of the busiest hectic ones i have seen in the longest time. but for today and today only, i ask for one small miracle, for i am working on my 'talk' to be talked on saturday at the Girl Crush Art workshop and Tea party which i am hosting alongside of the peachy Danielle of The Jealous Curator and the fabby Andie and Emily of Assemble Shop. yes a talk no less is required from moi. i have pondered and i have prayed that today will be the day, the words will flow and when all is said and done i will look down at my little paper of blankness which stares at me this moment and a small miracle will have occurred.
where once there was blankness, there will be words of wisdom to share with fellow crushers on saturday... and little miracle number 3 will have happened

Tif
footynote: thank you kindly to all those who have written to me or left comments about my handmade dottie angel frocks, i am delighted you wish to make them too. i hope in the future to be able to offer up the pattern once i have figured out how, what, where and when :)

things to note...

note one:

Mr Sun shone down on us this weekend, we were terribly excited about the whole thing, none more so than myself, for the first really sunny day of the year marks Gladys coming out of winter hibernation and all appears right in the yard again

note two:

Doug and Ethel, mr and mrs pesky squirrel appear to have taken up residence in Our #4's pesky squirrel box he handmade last year and nailed 'willy nilly' upon the trunk of our old 'tall as a giant bean stalk' cotton tree. it would appear the digs was very much to their liking as yesterday 'Bit and Bob' made an appearance peeking out of the little hole, way way up high, out of danger, two little itty bitty baby pesky squirrels unware they are hanging by a thread so to speak. i was rather glad the binoculars my man found me in my concern of not being able to see that distance, even with my specs on, that i could not focus on that one big rusty nail that was holding a family of four pesky squirrels 'up high'. when voicing my concerns, i recieved the usual reaction of 'oh don't worry, its fine' sort of thing. i find it extraordinary my man thinks i am reassured by such words. for all i have to do is cast back my mind on other times in the past when such words of authority on the matter have been muttered and then recall what followed...

note three:

little olive turned 3 yesterday, it was cause for celebration indeedy! gosh 3, what a grand old age, she certainly has turned into quite the mature doggie of late. she chose to spend her day wisely...

sleeping,

more sleeping with a willing companion

and then a birthday portrait.

i asked her if she would smile for her portrait but she assured me now she is 3 and ever so grown up, she wished to come across a little more regal. she told me she had been studying photos of the Queen's corgis and realized they must have had some training prior to the photo sessions. little olive then went on to tell me, she has spent the past few days practising in the mirror i had so conveniently left at low level to cover up the open fireplace in my old studio. upon inspection of the birthday portrait i noted she would indeed make a fine corgi and i do believe the Queen would congratulate her on her royal pose. i told as much to little olive as i tucked her into her suitcase at the end of her big day, and i noted a small smile of contentment, as she nodded off to sleep (again)

note four:

today Our #4 turns 14.

14 years old on the 14th day. i am told this is a golden birthday and therefore warrants a lot more fuss and attention. i have taken this to mean, a birthday cake needs to be baked. usually i have my girls to rely on for such moments of crisis, but not this time, no sirree! its up to me and my pants baking ways to come up with the goods. i will not cheat and go to the nearest store for a store bought birthday cake will never ever pass as 'homemade'. so instead i will only half cheat for i have myself a packet mix!!! a red velvet cake mix that claims to be fool proof... on inspection of what extras i would have to add to the cake and icing mix to make it come to life i gasped out loud

"24 tablespoons of butter!!! 8 for the cake and 16 for the icing"

i have reread the instructions due to early morn and lack of glasses, but it is there in black print for all to read. after which i expected to see printed a disclaimer saying something along the lines of they are not held responsible for early death by making and eating this cake, but apparently they must have run out of space on the packet because it appears to be missing...

interestingly, if i had not made the cake myself (well actually i have yet to make it, but attempted to make it) i would never have known this small fact, i would have munched my way through several slices, marveling at someone else's baking abilities, laughing and a chuckling with the small talk around the birthday table as we sip our tea along with the cake. but i fear that will never be, for i am the baker of the cake today. instead i will watch silently as my lads of three inhale a red velvet birthday cake (all going well with making it and a small mircale happens) and along with it 24 tablespoons of butter, hearing myself say whilst smiling through my guilt "oh no, not for me but thank you... i am not hungry for cake at the moment"

Tif

a granny chic book

sneaky peek!