Just wanted to share the further improvements to the sewing room. Will be off to my sisters house tonight as I have to drive my motherinlaw to Roberts Creek. What a good excuse to visit sissy!

Had to wait until I gave my sister Barb her mermaid glass decoration before I could post this picture of mine. As I live by the beach, I thought we should have "beach theme" decorations even at Christmas. Found these hand-blown glass ones on ebay. Have still been busy doing the final trimings in the sewing room, got the chair recovered and the drapes up yesterday. I feel its all coming together nicely. Attended a Nia workshop yesterday (its a combination of dance, yoga, and some martial arts) and had so much fun that I signed up for the 6 week course!! It felt good to be doing something like what I have done all my life! Dance!

Have still been doing more work on the sewing room and painting the bathroom. It is taking more time than I thought but I'm pleased with the results. Got the wallpaper up in the sewing room, it covers a green painted wall so I feel it really brightens the room up. Going to lunch today with the women from yoga, one, Maureen, is 74 and so "with it", I can only hope that I'm like that at 74!

Have still been working on the sewing room ! Painted it white and have some fantastic shell wallpaper and matching fabric that I'm going to use. It was dark green before but even with all the windows it seemed dark and now with the white it seems so bright and twice the size! I came across a pair of vintage clip-on earrings that I wanted to make into a hair clip so just sat down and did it! Am really pleased with the results.

While cleaning up the sewing room I came across these two cloths peg people that I made when I was about 13 years old. They have hung on the Christmas tree ever since but have lost some of there arms. They were put in the sewing room a few years ago to repair but I never got around to it. In reading Sarah's blog it inspired me to find them and fix them up, maybe even make them some more friends. These two are from the Nutcracker Ballet.

Continued to sort out things in the sewing room. Got my tools organized so that I can actually close my tool box and likewise with the bead box. I feel so clean!!! Ok, so here are the baby dolls that my sister and I spent 2 faffy crafty evenings on. The one on the far left is the origonal one from 30 years ago( she is very yellowed) , beside her are my first two, then I went even simpler by just doing the heads out of wooden beads. They are about 3 inches tall.

Have always wanted to use an old sweater for a hotwater bottle cover. Found this one(so soft) at the thrift store about a year ago and each time it has been washed the body has gotten a little bit shorter. Just perfect for the cover and it was a breaze to make, only one line of stitching!

Had a fantastic 3 days with my sister. Walks on the beach to find mermaid's tears(beach glass) with the dogs, thrift store shoping, dollar store and even Walmart to get some lace. The lace was for these little dolls that she had first showed me how to make about 30 years ago. We thought it would be a snap to whip up a few but we spent 2 evenings trying to copy the original and ended up with the funniest little dolls you have ever seen. It was good for a laugh! She also helped me figure out how to put links into my blog and helped me organize my photos on Flickr, she is the best teacher in the world!
The biggest task that Barb helped me with was the disaster of my sewing, craft, ebay room. I just didn't know where to begin! After much sifting, sorting, tossing, organizing, and even dusting we got most of it done. Even after she left I continued (not as much fun without her) to clean and even got the furniture rearranged. Even every basket is labled thanks to her! Thank you magic sissy!

My sister arrived about noon and we have already been into town, down to the beach, where barb found a great piece of blue mermaid tears.

Had a great day yesterday because, for once the sun was shining! It has been such a rainy, windy, winter this year. Got some clean-up done in the garden then went to the beach to feed the sea gulls our stale bread. Decided to just see how much mermaids tears (beach glass) I could find in 5 minutes and was amazed with my finds! My sister Barb is arriving today for 3 days of fun and adventures, (faffy crafts and thrift stores) I can't wait! P.S. there is a quarter in with the mermaids tears to compare size

Have made another apron for Tie one on! It's just so much fun. This is the one I thought my sister was going to do but it was my first one( just a half apron) that was her idea. I must have had a dream about this one! I think it could be a nice Christmas one but will submit it for this month as well. It has been a busy few days with fixing up the bathroom (which really needs to be gutted!) Fred just covered up the rot with some plywood and we used a can of paint he got a the recycle depot but as it turned out there wasn't enough to do the whole bathroom! It is also a mat finish which isn't good for a bathroom so we will just think of it as the primer! I do like the colour though, its the palest pink I have ever seen.

After a few things going wrong I think we have all the kinks worked out. Had a lovely long walk on the beach yesterday with my yoga friend Joanne and beleive it or not she has never found beach glass( or as some call it mermaids tears) before! I found that such a shock! Well we were in for a treat and the storms have uncovered a mutitude of the stuff! We found white, 3 different greens, some of the usual brown, 2 beautiful turquoise ones, and I even found sizable mouve one.
Am pleased to say that my three Amaryllis bulbs have bloomed and are really quite stunning. I was about 3 weeks late in planting them for Christmas but will know for next year.

So my husband just helped me transfer all my old Xanga blog entries to this new blog site. There are a few things we can't figure out. 1. how to edit the entries. 2. how to get the personal info and links to the top.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Just had to add that my two daughters, Bronwynne and Caitlin, did the annual Polar Bear swim again this year. Bron has been doing it since she was 7 and now she is 16 and Caitlin has been doing it for the past 4 years, she is 12. I am so proud of them for keeping this tradition of theirs alive although I promised them that I would join them when I turn 45 which is next year. What have I got myself into?!?!?!?! I must mention that they were the first to go in and the last to get out!



Had a wonderful Christmas and it was so good to have my oldest, Kieran, home. There was much laughter and late night gab sessions with all. Had 15 in total for the big turkey but with everyone bringing something it wasn't alot of work. The new year has come in with me still thinking about mermaids so just had to make one out of wood. It seems that everywhere I look or what ever I read there is something about mermaids.

Am going for a "Pirate" sleepover out at Herondale bed and breakfast tonight for Judys birthday and all our Christmas celabrations. We haven't had one of these get togethers in what seems like a long time. I'm looking forward to it.

Friday, December 23, 2005

We got the gingerbread lighthouse done yesterday. With my two daughters help, I think we have created a masterpiece. It was so much fun but took us about 3 hours to build and thats with all the pieces baked the day before. Got all the presants wraped last night so now its just waiting for my oldest to come home for the holidays. He arrives tomorrow. I can't wait!!!!

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Had so much fun making the first snowglobe that I just want to make more and more and more. So this is the second in the series. I realized that for the next one I must add abit more water. Going down to my sister Barbs tomorrow and can't wait, the bags are packed already. I need some sissy fun before the kids get out of school! Sold $200.oo worth of Christmas trees yesterday with my daughter Caitlin for the Junoir Forrest Wardens, got free hotchocolate to drink and just had fun

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Well this is it, I'm really pleased with the results, infact I'm going to the thrift store today to try and find some more rose bowls to make more. I think I put too much glycerin into it as the "snow" floats to the top after a while, either that or the glitter I got is too light

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Today was overcast but no rain so hiked to the beach and cut myself a little Xmas tree for outside on the front deck. Got it all decorated with beachglass and shells, topping it with a moonsnail shell. Beach theme ofcourse. Then when I went to town I picked up all the supplies to make my own snow globe that I saw made on TV last night. I'm really excited about it (with all the talk about snow globes lately) and have always wanted one but never found one that I liked!

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Just got done the gingerbread cookies and will have to make another patch as we started a tradition last year of making a gingerbread lighthouse with a catwalk and everything! Made the new Xmas ovenmit covers last week.

2:51 PM - add eprops - add comments - email it


Also found these snowmen while set up Xmas stuff. The big guy has been around since I was a wee little girl and the small one my sister found for me last year. They are made out of the same type of plastic. They also make me smile!

12:56 PM - add eprops - add comments - email it


Have been so busy this last week doing the Christmas thing. It has alway been my favorite holiday but last year I just wasn't into it and was worried about how I'd feel this year. Need not have worried!!! The house is totally decorated (except for the tree which we get from the Forest Wardens) and I am ahead with my Christmas baking. Have made brownies, lemon squares, jam filled creamcheese cookies and the dough for Ginger bread cookies which I am going to bake this morning. Through all this was the sock monkey thing happening all around me (or so it seemed) so when I found a childs pair of work socks I just had to sit down and make one. He makes me smile

Friday, November 25, 2005

Haven't written in a long time but have been busy sewing more mermaids as they sold quite well at the last craft fair and have one more fair to do this Sunday then its over for another year. At this stage I just want them to be over so I can start thinking about Christmas myself. I love that time of year!

I want to talk abit about my kitchen as I have mentioned it in passing a few times. The kitchen I had before had one drawer, a very small counter and some old dark bottom cupboards. With 4 children still at home I needed more space but we couldn't afford to buy a new kitchen. What we got was even better, in my opinion, a full origonal 1940's kitchen with origonal paint (light green, I call it old hospital green) and beautiful crome hardware. We now have 18 drawers and 9 lower cupboards and 9 upper cupboards, I feel like I have died and gone to heaven!!!!! It really fits in with the feel of the whole house that was built in the early forty's as a beach cabin.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Have been going kind of crazy with the mermaid, seahorse thing! Can't seem to sew enough of them and each of the mermaids seems to have their own personality. Both stand a foot tall and are stuffed to the gills so to speak. Must stop sewing now though as the craft fair is tomorrow. It has been a great way to use up the fabric that I didn't know what to do with but couldn't part with.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

As if I don't have enough to do I decided to stencil a saying on my wall. I have seen the idea before but when my sister Barb did it I thought it was time to do it too! Of course the stencil wouldn't lay flat, and I only have two hands, so I had to pencil the letters in first then paint them by hand. When all was said and done, I was happy with the results.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Well I finally got all the "Good Dog" blankets sewn up for the craft fair and decided to sew a few ideas that have been rolling around in my head. The first one was a seahorse and the second was a mermaid. I had some difficulty sewing her hair on as I was sewing her up, I'll have to think up a different way. They were fun to make and really took no time at all once I had drawn out my idea on paper.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Don't know where the days are going. Trying to get everything done for the craft fair next weekend inbetween doing the laundry, shopping and feeding the mases time just slips by. Also thinking of moving furniture around in the house ( this is a favorite passtime of mine). These shell candles are a big seller at the fairs and I think they look nice as a grouping. My sister and I taught ourselves all we know about "groupings"

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Well, it was quite the day yesterday! I was up at 6:30 to get my oldest daughter to the dentist to have her wisdom teeth taken out. While she was under the knife I did a Safeway shopping then picked up some supplies for the next craft fair(I have to make some more GOOD DOG blankets). She was done by 10:00 and looked like a chipmunk with bloody gause sticking out of her mouth! We had to wait 45 minutes for her pain killers as Safeways computers were down. I phoned Fred to come and get her as I had a doctor appointment at 11:00 which was just the whole once-a-year thing. I phoned mom and dad and talked to them for about an hour then it felt like the day was gone before I knew it. I did get some rune bags sewn up after sup. out of some shell fabric which, I thought, goes with Seaside Runes.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Had a great 2 day craft fair, it was a real buying year. The things that sold the most were the "GOOD DOG" blankets, the bags of runes with their booklets, shell candles, and the plaster shells, the one-of-a-kind gift tags, and my photo cards with the beach snowman. You never know just what will sell in any given year. Doreen did great as always with her different jams and jellies and syrups. Here is a photo of our booth held in the beautiful old Hall

Saturday, November 05, 2005

The day dawned a rainy, windy one here on the coast. Went into town to mail some ebay things and to look for an old suitcase dolly to get all my craft stuff from the car into the fair. Have faith I said and "put it out there" and, naturally there was a great one proped up outside the thrift store for $2.00! It is wider than normal and holds 3 baskets full at once. It only took Doreen(my partner in craft fair crime) and I an hour to set up our table, we have it down to a fine art. When I got home my daughter decided to do a little

Friday, November 04, 2005

Found another silk, rolled hemmed scarf at the thrift store, plus a nice sweater and a brand new cookie sheet for Fred (he's my husband and chief cookie maker in the house), a cool chinese jacket, and salt and pepper shakers in the shape of a lighthouse with Peggy's Cove on them. A little something of everything! Went and worked out with my daughter again this evening and felt better about the whole tech rowing, tredmill, bike thing, guess Tue was a trial run on how to work these machines! Its probably a good thing that I have the craft fair this weekend as I will need the rest although my cheek muscles will get a good workout with all the smiling I seem to do at them! Just want to include a photo of a cool vintage apron I picked up at the thrift store the other day, it really goes well with my new vintage kitchen

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Wed. Had a day filled with taking photos and listing everything on ebay. Then just as I was preparing dinner at 4:00 the power went out! So much for dinner! Some parts of town still had power so it was off to A&W for the gang(I just thought I would mention here that I have 5 children, my oldest son now lives in Vancouver but 4 children in a home still makes for a lively household!) Anyway my oldest daughter is a vegetarian so we stopped at a pizza place to get her a slice of veggie pizza only to get to A&W and find out they now sell veggie burgers. Shows you how long its been since we all went out for dinner! The power was still out when we got home so the candles were lit, a log was put on the fire and we all settled in to have a good old gab session. I finished the book "The Mermaids Chair", great book, I cried! Power came back on at 8:30

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Waited for the mail to come then went into town to do the usual, banking and to Safeway, then on to the thrift store. Found a beautiful silk scarf in my colors of pink and light green. Also found a white glazed pot for my Amaryllis bulb that I want to bloom for Christmas. My yoga teacher had to close her studio last week as she didn't have enough students so my daughter got me to come along with her to the Rec Complex . We, along with my other daughter had a great workout and I'm feeling it this morning, aching arms, legs, actually, my whole body is sore!!!

Monday, October 31, 2005


Just finished another "Camp Blanket" for the craft fairs. I find these so much fun to make as every one is different. This ones for the beach girl but I also do them with titles like "CAMP FIREWOOD, BEACH HUT, CAMP PINEWOOD, and childrens names on them.

Sunday, October 30, 2005



I would like to just add a quote from a magazine that pretty well sums me up

"I like undervalued things. I like the thrill of the search, the big kick of finding something. I'm a bit of a scrounger"





I'm new to this blog thing but here it goes. My sister told me all about them and she just started one herself. Had a good day sorting out my sewing-come craft and ebay room which I was having to swim through before. The craft fairs all start next weekend and I think I'm ready. People always ask me what I make and I can only reply "A little of everything and its always changing"!