Mandy in Oz

although I have a plethora of excuses ;) Combine the many projects I have on the go, with the horrendous pain levels I'm currently experiencing and something must give. So, back on the blogwagon, so to speak. I' ve been doing a little sketching for a friend and I'm also working on a special nappy. Not to mention making felt food for my little princess, who will turn two next Sunday. Will post some pics later in the week :) A huge thanks to the lovely Tracy also, who sent me a wonderful package last week - a beautiful dress, a fleece soaker and a fleece skirty. We love them and Lily insisted on wearing her dress right away!

on route to a new home, is little Orkey the Orca. I was feeling inspired by Tracy's recent softie avalanche, so decided to design my own. Bek might recognise a theme here, as might Lesley ;) He's made from cotton velour and bamboo velour, stuffed with bamboo/hemp/cotton fabric scraps and embellished with cotton embroidery thread and a little organic cotton. And.....drumroll........Moon Goddess is complete! I' ve lined her in pul, for practicality, which was very challenging indeed :S Another project that will soon be on it's way to a new home. I'm a little sad to see her go, but I think her eventual owner will appreciate her :)

Meg tagged me, with this thoroughly entertaining meme :P Here goes..... This started at Smokey Mountain Breakdown and the rules are as follows. Answer each of the five questions. Tag five bloggers you would like to pass the meme to. Have them link back to you and to this post as the source meme. 1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words, what meal or food item do you think is sexiest to eat in the company of someone you would like to look sexy around? Sushi wins, hands down. After all, nothing says 'sexy' like seaweed stuck between your front teeth. *Wink* 2. What well-known person would you like to share a meal with—with or without clothing. (saying whether or not clothes are involved is optional). Stephen King, without a doubt. I'm sure the conversation would be fascinating - for me, anyway. 3. What does your perfect breakfast-in-bed look like? (Food AND the details, please. Candles? Music? Flowers? Hot tub? Dancing girls? blue eyes, athletic ...

when it comes to finding treasure in op shops. My sister now just shakes her head in disgust when I show her my latest oppy find and wills some of that luck to rub off onto her :P Here are some of my most exciting finds! From left to right, we have a vintage Chanel bag (a real one even!), A Salvatore Ferragamo handbag, some lovely Salvatore Ferragamo shoes and a stunning vintage Emilio Pucci scarf :) Oh, lets not forget the two innocuous looking teaspoons, which turned out to be one of my most exciting finds. Here is the telltale signature of Pucci Now, you're probably wondering why on earth I have two teaspoons included in my exciting finds. Well, since doing some research on a few pieces of British sterling silver that we had inherited, I'd become quite interested in it and had been keeping an eye out while op shopping for anything that might be sterling. These two spoons were in a rather grotty bag of silver plate cutlery - I picked up the whole bag for $1.00. As it turns ou

because it's another day out of the house all day for me.......groan....... I will freely and openly admit, I'm a bit of a homebody at heart :P My idea of heaven is an uninterrupted day to work on my current crafty obsessions. Although, being a mum of three, that uninterrupted day....well - let's face it, there ARE no days like that in the forseeable future! Ah, well - one can dream. Anyway, I'll be spending the day with my totally fabulous sister, who loves op shopping as much as I do, so I think I'll do some pictures of previous incredible op shop finds when I eventually get home :)

What a wonderful morning....a sleep in until 10am, my morning coffee in bed.......children gathering excitedly around while I open my pressies and cards......feel the serenity :P

Because these babies are ready! I've been a very busy girl, haven't I? And because I'm in a photo mood today, here's some pics of my current WIP's. Enjoy!

Well, no chance to take pics of anything exciting today - I was far too busy chatting up a storm with Bek at her store :P So instead I'm posting a photo of my lovely Lily, in her tiKKi Pint outfit. It was part of my prize for being a winner earlier this year, in the Nappycino Australia Day comp, with this entry :) I also received lovely items from Karen (Girly Bits), Jayne (Nurture Nappies) and Renee (Cuddles n Cloth). How lucky was I?!?

From the lovely Julie's blog! The first three people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me, sometime within the next 365 days. Who knows when it will turn up, or what it will be, but rest assured, it will arrive. All you have to do is promise to make the same declaration on your blog, and send out gifts to three of your lovely readers. Easy Peasy. Yay - my turn! Wonder if anyone will ever reply :P

At least, that was what I was muttering under my breath last night, while doing her embroidery tattoo for the millionth time....argh! This particular bag is destined to become a mamapad bag, or even a wipes bag (though I designed it with mamapads in mind......in a very tongue in cheek way, of course!) Now, I would post photos, but I've sent the naughty thing to time out in the sewing corner, so might post pics once I've sewn her up and snapped her. So there. Instead, I'll post some pics from today, of our lovely day at the beach. Lily's first time at the beach, in fact. It seems she likes the beach quite a lot......or at least I think that's what the huge hissyfit was about, when we had to leave :P And what would a photo shoot be, without Nadine, my kooky teen, hamming it up for the camera?