faux glass dome

morning!
i'm feeling much betterer - didn't have to get back into bed yesterday - so definately on the mend.
have been pottering around in my loungeroom yet again as i try to pull it all together - on almost no money!!
our tv cabinet has become somewhat of a 'mantle' of sorts - and as such i've been playing around with displays.
came up with this idea that i'm loving - surely someone else has done this - i just happened to have what i needed to make the idea work.

cryptic?? - sorry - i'll get to it!!

you know those glass display domes which are all around the place at the moment?? well they can cost anything from $20 for a basic thin glass dome (found on ebay this morning) or can range up to hundreds of dollars for the 'antique' variety with a wooden base.

here's a pic i found on google this morning -

from at the lovely duck egg blue essential in balmain, sydney here (it's been sold)

 well - we can't currently afford the cheap or the expensive options right now (plus mr w. would think me rather crazy for spending money on a glass dome in this current family financial climate!!) - but i managed to think of this alternative.......(not having money makes one think harder for alternatives - yes?!?!)

once there was a glass hurricane candle holder.........

that was one day turned into a faux glass dome.........

 
crazy???? i think it works.
it looks good with the other things i've dragged in from around the house.
i'll show you my 'mantle' shortly - don't fret - it will be today - i ended up doing a few things in the room as my brain has been allowed time to think lots while getting over the lurgy!!

goob is still home sick from school - she may go in tomorrow - but she has really been knocked for six the poor girl. luckily we have an extensive dvd collection to keep her occupied!!!

i will be back soon.
cheryl xox.

i is sick :(

hey hey.
just popping in to say hello - i'm alive - but have been in bed for the most part of the past 3 days.
mr w. was home sick with a lurgy last week - and he was very kind to share.
goob has been the next to fall - today is her second day home.
so i'm laying low - checking in on blogs now and then - but taking things easy and working on getting well.
hope all is well in your world.
(now hand me some more strepsils and the tissues!)
hugz,
cheryl xox.

crazy yellow and grey ottoman cover

remember this from yesterday -

crazy quilting of yellow!

well - this was all in pursuit of a new cover for our very old ottoman.
here's a before from long long ago - and molly is hogging the lens....

look past molly to that green astec thing in the rear......

so a few weeks ago we managed to get off the cover (it was a very tight slip cover) and had clark rubber cut a new piece of top foam to make a better fit with the bottom piece (they were two seperate pieces) - and i didn't take a pic of that bit - sorry!
we stuck that on - then i wrapped the whole thing with wadding - and it looked like this......

then i got sewing with my new yellow and grey stash (including quilting the top as per the first pic) - and we ended up with this.....

behold - a crazy yellow and grey ottoman!

it's all rather bold - and i would have preferred a thicker upholstery fabric - but for now it's far better than the original - so it will do.
here's some obligatory closeups - cause i can!!!

so that's my new ottoman cover i've been working on.
a lot nicer than the original and matches our loungeroom so much better.......

and that's where we're at for the moment. tiny steps to a new room - but steps forward at least.

it's the first slip cover i've ever made - and i haven't even yet checked out my 'Slipcovers with Shelley Instructional Video' which finally came in the mail from the US - (i posted about that lovely find here) but as it was a simple shape, i thought i'd just give it a go!!! what do you think??

it's a lovely sunny day here in canberra (finally after weeks of overcast coldness) - hope it's a nice day in your part of the world also.
 cheryl xox.

cross pillow

remember all that fabric i bought a little while back - posted about here - getting into the whole yellow thing?!?!
well, in between all the room painting - which is coming along wonderfully - i've been playing around with my little fabric stash - finding ways to use it around the room.
it's been draped over lamp shades and pillows - in fact it's been vertually all around our wee lounge room lately.
there is way more coming - but i'm not happy with it yet (ha - typical me!!) - but i'm happy with this one for the moment......so i'll share!!
here's the pre-made cushion i've had for years (from freedom - so the tag tells me)...

just your average choc brown linen look standard cushion...

 and this week i did this.......

made up a paper template, cut out the cross and hand stitched it on!

not bad huh?!?!
oh - and can you see the wall paint colour behind - nice yeah?!?! really loving the new walls. (promise to get my ass into gear and reveal the room soon..)
i've also pulled out my big beast sewing machine (that had some serious dust deposits - as it hasn't been used in so long - ya know - working/study/kids/life......) my Janome Memory Craft 6500 (i forgot how much i seriously love this machine) and i've been crazy quilting the life out of some yellow - trying to come up with a cover for our wee ottoman.....

that's all i can show you for now (yes - i know i'm a tease!) - as i'm not happy with the end results of the ottoman cover - but i'll fix it a little and suck it up and show you maybe tomorrow!!!

hope you're having a great day.
cheryl xox.

volleyball

last night goob and eky had their volleyball finals - and they played against each other!
they were playing off for 5th and 6th spots - so the rivalry wasn't too bad.
they both (and all their team mates) only started playing this season - and they have all improved incredibly from the beginning of the season.
and - what's best - they're loving it - no pressure - just having a great time. (yay!)
they play for their school and the coaches are their sports teachers. really really great teachers!


this volleyball hall has absolutely no insulation (i swear that silver stuff on the walls is just to make it look pretties!!). as the temp dropped below freezing last night - this hall was like an absolute ice box - and the poor girls have to play in lycra shorts and t-shirts.
very brave indeed.
(check in the photos at what the ref/umpire is wearing - he is even wearing gloves!)
meanwhile - i wore thermals under my jeans and had 4 layers on my top half. it was flippin cold.
here are some dodgy photos from the evening.(you can click to see a bigger image if you feel the need!)

 

winners on the night - 5th overall in the competition.

6th overall in the competition.

the blond one's would be mine!!!
the girls all played so well - despite the cold.
goob's team won on the night. (however they are also substanially taller and older than eky's team)
we now have 3-4 weeks break until the next season starts up.
hopefully the weather will warm up before then........i can live in hope.......

cheryl xox.

netball and stuff

well - that weekend just flew by - yes?!
ridiculous how quickly the time went.
here's a rundown of our weekend.....

saturday at our house is usually consumed with netball during the winter months.

(i meant to take a photo of an actual netball game - however i was scoring - and i forgot.)

all three girls play this year - with game times ranging from 8:30am until 1:30pm - at two different locations!
mr w. and i take turns each weekend at the various locations as the games overlap and we can't be everywhere at the same time.
last year was worse - even though we were at the same location - however on top of the three girls playing,  i was also coaching and playing - and two of the girls were umpiring - so we usually spent all day out in the cold, listening to whistles going off every other second.
this year goob has changed clubs - and she's a much happier little vegemite for the change. (she's also playing better too - with a coach that is supportive and encouraging - instead of a coach that is in it for a personal power trip)
she now plays for her school instead of our local club - and she coaches a younger team - and it's getting noticed at school and has been mentioned by quite a few teachers that they are really pleased with the leadership she has been showing. hearing such comments has certainly helped boost her self esteem - which had taken a battering from a club and association that seem to be 'in it' for their own adult ego trips instead of looking after the children's best interests.
so goob has broken away - and made the move.
we now drive around more and juggle pickups - but a happier daughter is far more important than the extra time spent on the road.
netball and volleyball car trips are actually brilliant times to talk with the girls about the world and all that is going on.
we have our best conversations in the car.

so apart from the netballing madness - we were babysitting our neighbours 2 kids for most of the remaining time - as the husband ended up in hospital with pneumonia - eek! he also has type 1 diabetes and his blood sugar levels were all over the place so he ended up in intensive care.
the kids are 8 months (miss s) and 2.5 years (master m).
wow - it's a mind twist to go back to looking after little ones again!!!!
little miss s was a crawling maniac getting into everything! luckily my girls were amazing at looking after them. little miss s ending up falling asleep at one stage on eky's lap - so very cute.
neighbour is doing much better now - hoping he'll be home fairly soon.
both the neighbours and us don't have family readily available on hand to help out in time of crisis - so it's great that we can depend on each other.

in between all of that - a little more painting happened - it's looking great - can't wait to get it all done and show some good pics. i'll hurry - i promise!

mr w. did manage to put that big loungeroom tv inside the cabinet as i was hoping for (after much hole drilling for power chords and shelf re-adjuststing) - and it fits perfectly.
here's the fit (warning - more bad iphone pics ahead...)

and it all now hides behind these -

and i even managed to organise the power chords after some pinterest inspiration here - with some bread tags and a marker pen........

organisation is taking place in this house - one baby step at a time!!!!!!

in food news - i cooked a yummy warm stew - and goob made an amazing caramel tart - we'll take photos and share another time - we just didn't get a chance. sorry! it was a freezing weekend - and comfort eating was the order of the days!!

hope your weekend was great.
i've got to get back to painting!! here's to a great week.
cheryl xox.

the painting begins....

happy friday peeps!!!!

i can't believe it's almost been a week since my last post.
this week has flown.
we spent a wonderful time (last weekend) up in the southern highlands with very good friends, and as the weather was miserable (it rained the entire long weekend) we had no choice but to laze around and enjoy good conversation, movies, loads of food, general merryment - and staying indoors to keep warm!!
once back home - the kids went back to school & mr w. went back to work - while i had the task of finally picking a wall colour for the loungeroom.

yesterday i picked up the 4 litre can - it's taubmans 'silkworm' - kind of a light browny grey - i liked the warmth of this compared to the more bluey greys.
i'm loving it so far......i'm just always nervous when it goes up hoping that it will look as good all around the room as it looks inside my head!

today i made a start......(can't find the camera - so these are all care-of-iphone)

i've cut in down the bottom and the sides - but got too excited and wanted to start rolling the wall to see what it would look like!! (i'm a little hopeless that way - no good with surprises either - fyi!!!)

of course the new colour is making all the trim look revolting and in need of whitening. great - more work - what have i started?!?!?!

oh - and over the last week - i did finish off my little knitting project - the yellow cushion.
i have named thee yellow knit - here 'tis.....

yellow knit seen here with my bathmat pillow

yellow knit is basically two knitted panels hand stitched together with a ribbin wrapped around.
incredibly brilliant i know! ha!
i do like a lot of different textures though - so it works for me.
i have never been a huge knitter (made one jumper in my youth and retired from the sport) - however this little exercise was very cathartic - so perhaps i'll engage in some more.....we'll see....

oh - and in other news - i received my marks for the semester from uni - an HD and two D's (and a pass and great report from the prac placement) - i guess i still 'have it' even after a two year break from the studies.  i'm glad i'm taking a break now - it's nice to switch off that part of my brain and switch on to more creative stuff.
(yeah - some days i think i started studying the wrong thing - but i'm too far gone now - i have to finish this thing - and i will damn it!!!!!!!!! )

so - for now - i'm keeping off the streets - keeping busy making things pretty!!
it's cold and windy here in canberra again today - good day to stay indoors and paint - so i'd better get back to it.
hope things are warmer where you are.
happy happy friday from me to you!
cheryl xox.

getting aquainted with yellow

as i've mention (in this post here) we're looking at using yellow in our loungeroom as our 'ping' colour -you know - the colour to brighten things up and add some fun.
i've never decorated with yellow before - nor worn the colour since i was very young - so i'm trying to get myself and the family aquainted with the whole yellow concept!

two of my gorgeous girls have very very blonde hair - hair i also had in my youth - but alas hormones and three babies have meant that my blondness is all hair dresser assisted now!! *ho hum*
yellow is just not a colour that we wear much - except for on our heads!

in anticipation of the use of yellow, i thought it best to hang some yellow around - get us used to it - see if we would like yellow to stay.

yesterday i set up a wee display on top of our soon-to be tv cabinet with some little flashes of this bright new friend here and there.

of course the trouble with colours (and neautrals for that matter) is that they come is so many flippin various shades - making them cool or warm - and making life difficult for those of us that don't have a degree in decorating or design or just want to use a colour and don't want to be hassled by the fact that things don't match because of the flippin shade!@$&!@!!

so yesterday i checked out a tutorial through pinterest on making little flower buds out a paper (found here) and got making; threw some wool around the mr gnome's neck (he doesn't mind fashioning various looks when needed); ripped off some of my new fabric (just a strip) and hung up a wreath on a mirror and put it all together to see how it all fits.

just thought it would be a little way to break us all in!
i'm liking it so far - let's hope the family will join in.

hugz,
cheryl. xox

hello....my name is.......

i'm coming out!
i've been hiding behind a name that just doesn't fit.
when we (ie the family) set up this blog i thought that a lot of anonymity was needed - but not going by my real name just doesn't sit right.
so - just to let you know - i'm cheryl - and i'm so very pleased to meet you!!!

thank you to all those that have been leaving such lovely comments. it's nice to connect to peoples all around the world - others that just get it - ya know?!?! i really really appreciate your messages.

anyhoo - have been busy in house o nefotlak - two kidlettes home sick from school on wednesday (cold & flu lurgies - but they're back at school now - so nothing too drastic) - and i've been busy crafting and designing the changes for our loungeroom (and trying to keep the family calm in the process - as they moan - "not more changes....???" - they're really not helping!).
the good news - the husband is coming around - and that's the main thing.

some really helpful suggestions from the lovely sarah at catalogued life, regarding flooring options (which mr w. is quite keen on actually - and i may not have to resort to a powerpoint presentation on the pros and cons of the idea!)
i had seen one of the links that sarah had sent through a while ago - and i'm so thankful for the reminder as it could really work. it involves a cheaper wooden floor option shown in demo here - 

from frugal farmhouse design

it's turning into such a cold winter here in canberra - and the painted concrete in our study looks awesome - but is rather cold - and would be too cold for our loungeroom, where the kids love to sprawl out on the floor.
so the painted wood could really be a good option. then if one day we can afford the more expensive option, we would have already laid the plyboard foundation in preparation - although i'm hoping that the above option will suit just fine. (i really like this look)

i'm off to the hardware store today to get some sample pots of grey for the walls - fingers crossed we find a good one - i'll keep you posted.

crafting - i made this tassle -

and started on a cushion cover doing this -

(and i now have sore arms! - apparently i haven't used my knitting muscles in a very long time...)
 which finally grew into this....(one side of my cushion!)

i've also been experimenting on how to turn my old silver storage boxes (from my office) from silver to white.

mish mash of boxes!

you would think that is easy - paint right! - but i haven't been completely happy with the results.
i've tried gluing on fabric, gluing on paper - and just plain old paint - but because of all the silver bits....it's been a bit of a bugger job to complete. and in typical me-style - if i'm not happy with the finish i kinda drag my feet on completing the task.......
here's a close up - (the blue bits are painters tape - right boxes are the original colour)

anyhoo - that's my current issues. would be so much easier to go and buy new white pretty boxes - but we can't afford them and more importantly - these work fine - it's just the visual factor that i have to deal with.
(i'm being a wee pedantic - yes?!?!) maybe i should have left them silver - damn!!

these also need to be finished painting - (left are the original - right have a few coats of white paint) -

i must say - the good thing about having a blog is that you really want to get projects completed so that you can show off the results - no matter how many viewers are watching and/or interested.
we have so many half completed jobs in house o nefotlak!
i love brain storming and coming up with the ideas - i just need little worker bees to do the hard yakka for me and get the job done. (or i need to stop day dreaming and get off my ass - perhaps!!)

at least i have a break from the studies to let my mind wonder without too much guilt!! now i just need to get some projects moving and/or completed before the next semester starts up again.

that's it from here for now. hope things are far warmer where ever you are. it's been a super cold week here and i'm sure i saw a hint of snow on the brindabellas while dropping off triple j to school this morning. (they are the mountains that surround canberra)

this weekend is a nice long one here in nsw/act for the queen's b'day. we're heading up the road to lovely bowral to stay with friends. really looking forward to some good company, good food and good times.

have a great weekend in your world.
hugz,
mrs c.  oops - cheryl. xox

mod podge and other finds

the mod podge can wait - i need some help dear readers.
i'm not one to throw caution to the wind and pick wild and exciting colours - but damn it - i think the time has finally come!!

found these items today and i'm thinking of some colour changes for that lounge room of mine that is driving me nuts!
what do you think......

yes - it's yellows and greys!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! maybe?!?!?!?!?!?!
(have to convince myself before i work on mr w. and the kidlettes - but i'm really liking the colour combination.)

here's some inspirational rooms i've been collecting on pinterest -

via dwellings by devore

via luxury interior design journal

via house tweaking

and there's more i've been adding to my pinterest folder on the colour topic here.

today i also went to bunnings (our main hardware store here - as they've bought out almost all the other guys) - and have been pouring over paint swatches.
kill. me. now.
does there really need to be so many choices!?!?!?!?!

so here's a reminder of my current loungeroom -

so - what do you think - do you think it could work???
we'll pull up the carpet (paint the concrete either light grey or white for now - with a big rug - as we can't afford the timber floors i would love)
then paint the walls a warm grey and the cabinets and woodwork a warmer white than they are.......and add some 'ping' with my little finds (all sewn up and looking pretties).
regardless - i'm going to make a quilt and some cushions out of the fabric - and we'll go from there.

really proud of my fabric choices - i was at the store (addicted to fabric) for over an hour just putting together this collection and trying to come up with other ideas and combinations - but i kept coming back to these - they really talked to me!! (or am i really going mad now?!?!?!)
the store ladies liked my choices - but maybe they were just being nice - ha!

then i ventured to spotlight and picked up the grey bathmat (yes i can see another bathmat pillow in my future - like i made here) - (the bathmat is the great textured item in the middle of the top photo), the yellow wool (on sale for just $2 per ball) i'll knit up for a pillow or even try my hand at one of these -

via design*sponge

 and the paint to play around with on some picture frames perhaps.

oh and that's where i found the mod podge -

i've been seeing heaps of diy crafty tutorials on pinterest - and so many refer to a product called 'mod podge'.
i've never heard of it here - and i just figured that we (australians) are often behind in getting such products that i'd just work out an alternative.

well - to my surprise - i found it in spotlight of all places.
who would have thought?!!
it's often really hard to find anything much in canberra - as there really aren't too many choices some times - *sigh* - i miss sydney for the shopping possibilities!

so that's where i'm at.
what do you think........??

 - the choices we have to make.....

and fyi - it didn't get above double digits (centigrade) down here in canberra today - flippin cold i say - and tomorrow is going to be the same i hear.
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
sounds like a good day to stay in doors and craft i'm thinking!

hugz from me.
mrs c. xox