Our new House

Our new House

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Swap Bot

In the past year  I have been involed with a  group called swapbot . I started with a few swaps overseas













The above  swap was called a Gnome mug rug swap . The one on the left I made  and sent to Canberra . The one on the right I received from overseas , the lovely lady even made them for  my grandaughters





This a journal for  a tea jornal swap I made for Amber in England

I was over a few months  involved with other swaps , atc, bookmarks,tea bags , book pages to name a few . But I found that with  postage expense  and  the lost swaps which you had to resend  were reasons   to stop with the overseas swap.
I found , still in swapbot a group that only sent around Australia called  Active Aussie Swapaholics

Following are a few of the swaps I have been involved in

This was a instagram pincushion swap
On the left is what  I  made,  an owl and  mushroom pincushion  for a lady in adelaide
The one on the right is what I received  and it is used a lot
The owl is  also perfect  sitting on a  mug rug that  was from another swap, the  cordinater very nicely  angel for  me when my partner didnt send




 The next would be the swap that I   enjoyed the most making . It was a A wonderland tea swap 
Below on  the left is what I made I cross  stitched  a tea wallet using washable canvas  
I received the one on the left , a tea despenser with some lovely pictures on it , It was a shame it got dammaged in the post 




















Above is another swap ,  a personal  scavenger  swap. You had to list 10 ideas of items and your partner choose 5 . The above left is what I sent . I love revamping items , the green bag is a wollies grocery bag appliqued .I received the one on the right

The next is the last main swap that  I am in , a traditional advent swap . The one on the left is the one I sent  to perth  and I received the one on the left . I am enjoying opening the parcels












I would like to remain in this group so I  will do the montly small swaps  like WTA, wimnner takes all  which each month  everyone that enters has to send something small to the person chosen
but no more intense swaps for me

Monday, October 5, 2015

Our backyard

Our Backyard









So the work continues. Our free cubby house that i found thru facebook is nearlly completed & the  the girls love .  We have used all reclyed timber to completed & so far has only cost us $20
It is nearly fully lined  the ceiling as well to try & keep it as cool as possible .Next it will need  to be painted ,lino put down   & then we can decorate the inside .
 An extra window has also been put in which has added heaps of light & more venterlation











 The backyard is looking rather good  still more fill is needed but the end is insight.  Compared to what it looked like a couple of years ago it is so much better . The girls had a lot of fun under the sprinkler this weekend , I couldnt put up any photos as they had no clothes on .

We do need more plants  the back corner  garden . We thought it was looking fine until I discovered that what I thought was groundcover was in fact a nasty weed that was  overtaking everything .Hopefully I have got it all



One thing we have found with this place is that roses grow so well
Our mary Mckillop rose  that was  given  to us from a lovely relative , a nun ,  has survived multiple moves & gives us beautiful  pink blooms .
The Daniel morcombe rose (  http://www.knightsroses.com.au/daniel-morcombe-rose.htm ) is also thriving . We also have a couple of smaller rose bushes that we sneaked out of the old house that are also doing very well in this lovely weather we are having

 We also have a new resident a little lizzard that lives in the rose area & except for today can nearlly always be found under the Mary mckillop bush . Its is lucky that our old staffie Tasha is now blind because she used to love chaseing  lizzards especially blue tongued



My next job is to work on the entertainment area , We need to expand the paved area & need a covered in area to put the paddling pool up for the girls . only thing is since last summer  the pool has gone missing . It cant be hard to find as we dont have a lot of storage areas

Thursday, February 12, 2015

New cubby house














This afternoon we are going to dismantle and  pick up this little fixer upper.
I  feel that  the add should have read handyman's delight" but instead it said "free"
We do have in our backyard cubby house attached to the swing set which we have done a bit of work on to make suitable for the grand daughters but it is far to small  so it was decided to attempt this project.
It should give them  their own space and  it has a door so Piper the dog can be shut out

The cubby does need a bit of work . It needs a base to sit on , a new floor , a coat of paint and it will be perfect 

There has been a couple of bloggers I follow  that they have done up cubby house  & they have given me many ideas 

1) In this one I  love the chandelier, it has follow them in their house moves 

2)this lady lives in NZ , my birth country and  the cubby is adorable .  I love how it  is staged for the photos , it is so cute
http://domesticblissnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/mousehouse-playhouse.html

Not sure yet how our the completed cubby  will look but I have ideas

  •  walls to be green ,
  • hand painted  flowers 
  • ,Olivia said we have to have curtains  
  •  some sort of quirky light . 
But first we have to work out the floor



So this is the area it is going in , the garden on the right will be have to be shorter and  the flower box will come of  and  go on the new cubby . 

Watch this space for further developments 


Saturday, November 29, 2014

Family , Xmas and sunshine





So Christmas is fast approaching again

We are attempting a more simple Christmas this year  with   more attention to laughter , exercise, healthy food,  smaller presents and  fun .

 So  maybe in the new year we will look back and see if we have achieved our goal



This weekend the  house has started to get Christmas  lights.
We cant compete with the other 5 houses in our street but we have tried.
The Reject  and kmart shop has come in very handy 



I have  never been one to   put many decoration  or lights around the house  , i have been a bit of a humbug  with the whole Christmas  thing
 But here is a few of  the things we have done


Our nativity scene ...the real reason for Christmas ,

 The calico  angel behind was made for us by my
Mum quite a few years ago








This  santa  I made  a few years back  at a local
 sewing shop with a good friend .
 I have lost his hat  but he is still my favorite



These quilts  have  been sitting in my sewing cupboard sadly for a couple of years waiting patiently for a little bit of attention and  now are  finished .

 I have not quite decided where to put the smaller one yet








This year  have a new  front door decoration as  last year someone said my angel  was creepy so it went to  angel heaven

Now  we have a rustic star  purchased at kmart  to which  I added  some  bells The ribbon is from our dear departed angel ,





The advent bags have a had a couple of years use
It is quite hard filling in so many days  so there are a lot of repeats but both grand daughters love ringing each other to see what they have scored










 This is our next project , the wire frame will be covered with fairy lights .
 I have two others to  do as well but need more lights






     
So the Smith family is not quite as humbug as I would like but  we are not                                                     as busy as some  ....  on no   my husband wants to buy more lights




Monday, October 6, 2014

Renovating the cubby stage 1



 A long weekend was approaching   and  our next door neighbors  had pulled a side fence down  so  we decided ( much to my husbands distress) to renovated the cubby house.


This is what the cubby was like , very open  with no protection from the weather  or privacy for the girls .
 It also is in  need of a stain as the original  was very poorly done.

I also decided to remove the yellow, green shelf as it never gets used.
 A  flower box  in place would look far better so  the girls can fill with their own flowers to cut  so maybe leaving  mine alone





We pulled pieces from the back of the top section ,next we started filling in the walls  with the  recycled wood .
We left an area at the top like a window  to give a flow of air across
It took time measuring each piece of wood  , cutting and screwing in place but we had enough to complete  the sides.

 As you can see in the pictures it not quite the same wood but after a coat of stain  I think it will be fine

My husband is of to bunnings to buy some bits and  pieces to finish
Hopefully a timber  window box as well

I am thinking of some sort of curtains or blind to close the bottom in




the
happy
grandchildren











and so are the  dogs happy        

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Spring is Here time to fertilize


We have had a few weeks break  of  working in the  back yard what with birthdays and lots of rain but it is time to get back into it as Spring is here

Our  list includes




  • More dirt is needed in the backyard  as the filled in areas of last year  have sunk . But we have a new puppy, Piper  who loves to dig and  chew especially my flowers .With all the rain we are having muddy puppy paws might not be much fun 





  • we need to decide if we are putting a vegetable garden in  along the  back fence ,the cost and  the puppy issue  are factors against this 

  • we would like  to extend the back patio out so we have a more usable family  area 
  • putting a  barbecue area like the one below is sort of the idea I want to do 



We  just need the  rain to stop  and  we can get into it . Also we need to get a concrete guy to actually come  to quote.So maybe it might be a couple of weeks before we start

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Backyard makeover


So we have been in our new house nearly a year .

 We have achieved nearly all we set out to do .
The sewage  man hold covers( the black things )  were raised by water board free of charge .
Next  a fence contractor came  in to  straighten the fence  and  built a retaining wall
Approx  20 ton of  free rubble was delivered by trucks to  fill in the back yard ; then 8 ton of top soil was delivered .
We then layed the grass . This all sounds quite easy but it wasnt ,we were exhausted by the end



















Gardens have been finished , plants put in  pictures hang  & garage cleaned out.
The lists just never seemed to stop  but we are done .
 All done in time for our granddaughters first birthday party.
The back yard needs more top soil to level it out but I think a small trip away in the caravan is needed  first