Somewhere to day dream...

Hello my lovelies! It feels like forever since my last post, and I have missed you all! Life has been a little hectic over this way...it always is when the kidlets are on holiday! But, I have been somewhat productive, and have a good few snaps to share with you. Regardless of how busy life gets, there is ALWAYS time for baking...

Mmmm...banana loaf...
                         One of my five-a-day?

Do you like the Sweet Williams? They are some of my favourite flowers ever, and I always get some from the market this time of year. These were a gift from a friend.

 ♥♥♥♥♥

Apart from eating too much cake, I have been playing house again. This occurs quite frequently. I have concentrated my efforts on our boudoir over the last couple of days. My writing bureau which has been sitting quite happily in our livingroom, has been uprooted and re-located to our master bedroom. And I am delighted with the change! It meant emptying all the drawers though, and they were packed with paperwork and photographs...there is now a MOUNTAIN of STUFF on my dining table which I have to sort through, and I'm not quite sure where it's all going to go...The bureau drawers are now full of my unmentionables, so there's no room there! Anyhow, I thought I'd show you some pictures...don't panic...I won't show you any pictures of my knicker-drawers!

Let's start at the beginning...

The bureau was a gift from friends, lovely, lovely, lovely!

I decided to give it a little make-over...Paint, wallpaper, new handles for the drawers...

Here's a picture of the inside, unpainted...

And the way it looks after the make-over...

I've been longing to create a little corner in our room, somewhere where I can read, write, day dream, and have some quiet moments. I love writing, I always have, but life and it's demands get in the way, and it's hard to find those quiet pockets in the day, where one can come up for fresh air and breathe...Moving the desk upstairs will hopefully create a corner of peace where I can retreat to.

As I didn't bother painting the inside of the bureau initially, I thought I'd lighten it by adding some pretty wallpaper to the inside. It has done the trick for me!

Somewhere to read...

Somewhere to write...

I love poetry! My favourites are undoubtedly Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Dylan Thomas and South African poet Ingrid Jonker. I found a copy of Elizabeth's works a few years ago, and it is just the most beautiful book. Bound in leather, with a rose print on the cover, it will be a very mature 100 years old next year!

A poem worth a mention...

A few feminine touches...

No more rummaging for these in a bundled mess at the bottom of a box!

Cake stands and tea cups for storing jewelry? Why yes! I hate rummaging for things! This way I can see where things are!

So, a L-O-N-G post today...Thanks for stopping by, and do say hello! You make my day when you do!

Blessings
Tania♥♥♥

Easter blessings to you!

One of my favourite times of the year is Easter. To me it means love, agape love (selfless love), hope and my reason for living an abundant life because of the sacrifice Jesus paid for me. It's a time of year which coincides with spring, which signals new beginnings and a fresh start. I get so excited when Easter arrives, and we can reflect on all that is good in our lives, and spend time with our loved ones. And, we do have fun indulging in a few traditions over this weekend! To kick things off, we make a few new additions to our Easter decorations stash. This year we decoupaged some plastic eggs, using old recycled pages about the story, the real meaning of  Easter.

We then decorated them with some ribbon and flowers...

We also made some large ones, which the children  personalised with stickers...

And here they are as part of our Easter vignettes...

I decorated an old baking tray with a few touches of spring...

...and I made this 'E' for Easter...

A few more  friends added...

I dear little deer...

The Bunnykins cup and saucer used to belong to my aunt when she was little...

A twig tree to complete this little corner...

And what would Easter be without a few eggs...

...and a few bunnies...

And perhaps the most famous egg of all?

Don't forget the Daffodils...

One final touch...a little whimsy...

And so the decorating is done. You will notice that there isn't a chocolate egg in sight...just yet...

The Easter bunny hasn't come to our house yet, but he never disappoints. He always pays a visit in time for the kidlets to wake up to a scattering of eggs on Easter Sunday.

I hope that you are having a very blessed time wherever you are. May you sow love, and feel loved this Easter!

         Tania ♥♥♥

'E'-xperimenting...'attempt at something new'

Do you sometimes get in a rut of doing the same things in the same way? That's how I felt these last few weeks with regards to my crafting and styling of our home. I think I have a definite 'style' that usually appeals to me, but of late I have felt like a chameleon on a Smarties box...confused as to which colour I should go for! The urge to change things up a bit is pulling me towards trying out new things, and my tatsebuds are hankering after something slightly bohemian and eclectic, as opposed to the country look that I normally go for. And it all started with an 'E'...

As you probably know, I have been working on our family photo wall over the last few weeks, and I've been focusing all my creative time on this little project. So, needless to say, I wanted to add yet another little something to it, an 'E' in fact, standing for Egan, our family name. So, I obtained a blank 'E' from the craft shop, and had to decide how I was going to alter it. Normally I would take the 'shabby chic' route, opting for limewashed creams, pinks or blues...Something like this lovely 'B' from www.notonthehighstreet.com...

But, a very yummy metallic green acrylic paint was winking at me in the store, and before I could say 'no', I had parted with my cash and it followed me home! I kid you not, it stalked me! I then found these gorgeous pocket tissues, and before I knew it I was decoupaging butterflies onto a very bright green 'E'!

'You know you want to...!'

Pretty pocket tissues!

Once I'd painted my letter and decoupaged it, I decided to take sandpaper to it for a distressed look. A little rub of gold paint in places, and some metal photo corners added, I am quite pleased with the end result! It is very different from what I first had in mind...

I think I have been slightly influenced by the tastes of interior stylist, Selina Lake, who's homespun style is something I absolutely adore! On that note, check out her new book: Homespun Style.

 I'd like to encourage you to experiment, and to try new things. I think the key to homespun style, is to not over think things. After all, being a homemaker is being your own stylist. Seize the opportunity to express yourself in your own way. It's tons of fun and very liberating! Drop me a comment below, and let me know what you think!