Rainbow Royale

"What kind of

birthday party

would you like?" Ellie's mother asks.

(Miss Ellie turns

four this year)

Wonder what would she love...?

Miss Ellie's Answer...

"A

RAINBOW

Party!"

So seeing as she missed out altogether, on a party last year,

her wish was granted.

Well if it's good enough for the Queen of England...then it's grand enough for Miss Ellie.

A

Rainbow Party

it is then!!

Ellie's very

clever and creative

parents made all those

yummy food thingys

that you can see,

while I did the decorating,

with coloured paper,

glue and thread.

Different sized large punches

were used to

create the circles,

and were then 

stitched together

on the sewing machine.

The bunting was made from a pad of coloured paper and string.

I punched out small dots and glued them onto the triangles that I had cut out.

The gorgeous

jellies

were made over a period

of a few days.

Ellie's father, made the cake!

(told you he was clever!)

Lots of love

and effort went into baking this masterpiece...

AND it tasted

so

DELICIOUS!!!



Ellie's comment

at the end of the day...

"THIS was the BEST birthday party EVER!"

Well Wishes

"Just living is not enough...

one must have

sunshine,

freedom

and a little flower."

~Hans Christian Anderson

"Flowers are the sweetest things God made and forgot to put a soul into."

~Henry Ward Beecher

I was thrilled to be given these beautiful flowers

last week.

Now that they are in fact starting to wilt, I thought I would post them here when they were looking their best,

so I could continue to enjoy their beauty, and also share them with you.

It is only a shame that you can't smell the roses and the hyacinths!!

ENJOY!!!

Thanks for looking!

A Royal visit...

I have had royalty on my mind, lately.

Which is kind of appropriate...

seeing as Queen Elizabeth is visiting us (Australia) this week.

Her Majesty is not the only one who happens to adore CROWNS.

I myself have a fondness for these highly ornate and ridiculous head pieces.

They can be any size, shape or colour...I love them ALL.

Which is what led me to make this latest creation.

To get a better glimpse of it, just click here!

(oh...in case you were wondering...that little Princess in the pink gown is my grandie, Lilli)

Thanks for looking!

Nothing here folks!

Yes, I'm afraid
if you want to
see and read anything new and interesting...
then you will have to go here.

...oh, alright then...here is a sneak peek...

(Quick!... you'd best scoot on over to our new blog)

 

Published

A parcel from Sweden.

Yes, it finally did actually arrive.

I was a bit bemused and a little flattered

when I had contact from a complete stranger, named Mark, via our Lilliput Loft Facebook Page.

He asked me, after reading my blogpost regarding our painted Faerie Room,

if I would mind if his wife used a photo from my blog, for the cover of a book she hoped to publish.

The actual photo was of an unfinished wall.

I replied, "Sure. No worries."

I offered to photoshop a few of the finished pictures into the scene, but they really didn't seem to mind that the scene was not fully completed.

A few weeks went by,

before I heard from this Swedish couple, again.

They informed me that they would post me a copy,

with a 'thankyou acknowledgement' inside the front cover.

OK...so they mis-spelt my name.

Not to worry.

Bit of a buzz to actually see my painted wall on the cover of a book.

I have yet to read this tale, so I cannot tell you what I think of it.

I will try to find the time before too long, to read why my 'wall art' was "SO Perfect" for this tale.

Hope your book goes well for you, Cecilia.

Wishing you all the best.

'Papier Boudoir' petite paper dresses

Don't you just love the smell of brand new paper.

There is something about it that takes me straight back to my high school days and the start of each new school year.

I think it is because, that was probably the only time of the year when I got to own something that was brand new.

I love office supplies stores (like Officeworks)

and I can get quite heady as I take in a few DEEP breaths while walking through the aisles.

Secretly swooning as I pick up a folder or two

and poke my nose into the pages...ahhhh...*paper bliss*

I also love the smell and feel of old books.

There is something strangly comforting about them.

So much life has touched each page,

yellowed with the passing of time.

(iPad ...just NOT the same feeling)

above: Music Box Dancer - with tulle

I bought a couple of old library books

a few weeks ago,

during one of their charity weekends.

I had tried to tear up

some old books that I had at home,

but I just couldn't do it...except for the old phone book.

So I decided that I had to buy some 

with the specific purpose to be torn up.

I also love ballet dancers and the theatre,

so beautifully graceful and elegant.

Full of whimsy and fantasy.

above: Music Box Dancer

These two loves of mine have come together

with the creation of these tiny dresses.

I've made a few little paper dresses

to sell in Lilliput Loft.

(my Etsy shop)

above: Ballerina

above: Little Dress

After I have made the tiny coathangers

from a piece of wire,

they are then spray painted with a

couple of coats of white paint.

These petite dresses are a great way to use those tiny pieces of trim and ribbon that are often left over from other craft projects.

Now...I'm off to tear up some more paper.

See ya!

Papier Boudoir

Oh...OK...so I couldn't wait to show you what I have been busy with!

Oh so pretty and so cute!

I was going to wait until tomorrow to reveal these petite lovelies,

but I just couldn't wait.

I am in the process of listing them in Lilliput Loft on Etsy.

Creative ideas...

...must be able to make

something beautiful

from all these items...

Love Letters

"When someone loves you,

the way they say your name is different.

You just know that your name

is safe in their mouth."

- unknown

"When you love somebody,

your eyelashes go up and down,

and stars come out of you."

(what an image) - Karen age 7

With Valentine's Day coming up soon, 

 my thoughts turned to love and things of that nature.

Which led me to dig out a pile of old love letters given to me by My Knight, many years ago, before we were married.

Within a few weeks of our courtship,

My Knight was called up

for National Service.(Nasho)

So we had to continue to get to know each other through letters.

Many, many letters.

Written when he was only 20 years old and I was all of 14.

(have I shocked you?)

The romance was enhanced

with our written words to each other.

Absence did indeed,

 make the heart grow fonder.

When I was around 16 years of age, I told my mother that he was the one I wanted to marry. She just laughed and said I was too young and that I didn't know what I was talking about.

My big brother would taunt me (as big brothers are prone to do) by singing the words of the old song by Donny and Marie Osmond, 'Puppy Love'.

But no amount of mocking

could kill the love we had for each other,

and we were married when I turned 17. Yes, 17.

(have I shocked you again?)

As the old saying goes: 'Time will tell'.

 Now over 36 years later,

I have proven that what I knew then, was true.

He has always been and still is,

My Knight in shining armour.

Ok, so I'll admit that there were moments

through the years when the shine became a bit tarnished,

but never too dull for me.

(The 1970's  gave us some shocking fashion!)

As I shuffled through the pile of letters,

I came across a poem written by My Knight,

about 12 years after we were married.

I can recall, it was for a special Valentine's Night that we had organised for our church, as the 14th February coincided with a Saturday night, in that particular year.

With tables clothed in white and adorned with candelabra,

 large pink cardboard cutout cupids,

and red and pink balloons

together with hearts and streamers draped around the room,

the room was transformed

into a dining room fit for a fairytale.

The ladies had baked and iced

heart shaped cookies prior to the delightful evening.

Everyone dressed in their very best,

and brought along a salad to share.

The men donned aprons

to cook the meat on the BBQ,

and after a wonderful meal,

served by our waitress' and waiters 

(aka the youth of the church),

while we sipped our tea and coffee

and nibbled on our heart shaped cookies,

it was time for some love poems to be read out.

Quite a few men had taken up

the challenge of writing a poem for their loved one.

Most of the poetry was funny and quite charming.

Below is a photo of the original poem

handwritten by My Knight.

A word of warning:

It may sound a bit blokey and on the corny side to you...but I think it is sweet.

A Poem For Vicki

"Well here I stand,

looking back twelve odd years down the track,

and just exactly what do I see?

I see a roughian..oh! that must be me.

A petite young blonde I also see.

Wow! She's some sheila,

she'll do me.

Well, we got together as young-uns do,

had our traumas, argued and blued.

But we grew up,

funny about that.

Everyone does it, as a matter of fact.

Her nickname was 'kitten',

it suited her fine.

All I could think was,

she had to be mine.

Well, the girl become a woman, as girls tend to do.

I said "I love you".

and she said "Me too".

So we got us married on the 6th December,

I know it's that date...I gotta remember,

'cos if I forget...then there'd be trouble,

I'd have to buy flowers on the double.

Well, we've now got two kids to help us along,

but they're no real trouble.

They're were they belong.

And our love for each other is just as it was, in them early days.

Who says persistance never pays?"

I did warn you.

Pretty corny but so cute.

Do you have a stash of old love letters

that you have forgotten about?

Or perhaps,

a Valentine's Day card or two,

from years ago?

Maybe a sweet poem written for you by your loved one?

If so, I would love for you to share it with me.

"When you love someone, all your saved up wishes start coming out."

- Elizabeth Bowen

PS...just a reminder that my very first 'giveaway' will be drawn after

Valentine's Day.

If you leave a comment

here,

you will be in the draw.

(click on highlighted word to be taken to 'giveaway')