An exciting package arrives...

Remember my stitchery project?

Well it has arrived back home after visiting several different States in America and then heading over to Switzerland.

Stay tuned to this blog....I'll be opening this very soon and you'll all get to see what's been added to it!!

How exciting!!

IT'S HERE!!!!

Yesterday it looked like this!

Yes, that is snow you can see!

It not only looks cold, it FEELS cold!!

BUT today is my birthday! 

And the sun is out 

there's no wind,

and it's time to have us a ...

South Seas Beach Party!!

table decorations

The punch bowls are ready,

the hawiian shirts and skirts are ready,

the food is all prepared,

the lanterns and fairy lights are ready to hang,

the pineapples and straws are waiting,

lots of coloured leis hang everywhere!

BRING IT ON!!

Carole :))

My next attempt

What do you think? 

Cherries anyone?

Carole :))

Progress report

Here is painting no 2. 

Can you tell what it is?

I think the apple needs some major colour adjustments lol.

I guess everyone starts with the obligatory fruit!

Wonder what next weeks lesson will be on?  

Carole :))

And 2 more arrive!

These 2 arrived on Saturday afternoon!

A smooth delivery, and both lambs are feeding well!

Yay, no bottle feeding!

Spring delights

Carole  :))

Don't laugh.....

Well you remember I told you that I was doing an online class thru Joggles.com?

It is a watercolour sketch book class.

Jane LaFazio is the tutor.

Well it has just started and we will get 1 lesson a week for 6 weeks.

Our first lesson was in still life.

Now I am very eager to get going, but there is a small problem...

I can't draw!

One has to be able to draw in order to paint the subject!

So I can't draw, and I totally am colour blind when it comes to mixing! 

So this class is going to take me to comfort zones that just don't exsist! LOL

For my first try I used 2 apples and a lemon.

What do you think?

Could you tell they were fruit? (please say you could!!!)

If you really could then maybe I'm off to a good start!!

2 apples and a lemon, 5x7" by carole brungar

Have a faulous week!

Carole :))

A pretty surprise arrives...

This pretty card arrived in the mail yesterday,

a pretty wee bunch of vintage flowers and butterflies.

What a lovely combination!

They came from a lovely blogging friend, Jen in Australia. 

Thanks Jen,

they made my day!

I totally love them!

Carole :)

I have loads of comments and questions about our wee lamb!

So, I'll try and answer some of them here for you.

I had no idea as to why he wasn't feeding from his mum, and I couldn't pen them

so that I could check her udder, so

rather than let him die I decided to bottle feed him.

He is now quite a strong wee fella.

Today with the help of our "faming lady" and her dog

we rounded them all up and checked them all. 

One of the sheep looked like she would lamb very soon, another looked 

as though she would lamb in the next few days.

After they had all been checked, we held the mother 

and suckled the wee lamb to her.

She had plenty of milk. We left them by themselves for a few hours, 

and I went out now and again to help and remind him where the milk came from lol,

so he could get used to feeding from his mum.

Then, much excitement, tonight after watching him feed all by himself,

we let them back into the big paddock.

He has been feeding lovely!!

It's such a relief. I have been feeding him 3 times a day, and although it's VERY cute 

to have cuddles etc... the novelty soon wears off! LOL

THEN.....

tonight, one of the other sheep had not one, but 2 little shaky white lambs!

It was so exciting to see them born and to watch them trying to feed from their mum, and

she was being a very tentative mother.

They both look healthy and strong, and I'll take photos for you tomorrow. 

In the mean time, I'm going to have to come up with some names..

any ideas??

Here it is, our first lamb of the season!

Our first lamb has arrived and his mother is not feeding him. So, it's out with the bottle. It's so cute, but I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon!! 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Carole :))

Cake recipe

Here is the recipe for the fruit cake from a couple of blogs posts back - I promised Jane of marigold jam that I would post it.

It is a very tactile cake to make. Roll your sleeves up and away you go! 

It was taken from the October 2010 New Zealand House and Garden magazine.

Shortest Day Cake

1kg mixed dried fruit (add prunes to give the cake a dark colour. I used mixed fruit, but I will make it again using only sultanas)
1/2  cup of liquid sherry, rum or tea
200gm butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup honey

The day before you plan to make the cake, soak the fruit in the liquid, (rum, sherry or tea)
Then to make the cake, in a big bowl rub the butter into the flowr. Add sugar, baking soda and salt, then the dried fruit. In another bowl mix the eggs with the milk and honey. Add this to the main mixture and stir (with hands). Put into a 23cm round or square tin and bake at 160 degrees C for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Enjoy, let me know how yours went!

Carole :)

ALOHA I'm excited!

all images taken from google

 In a couple of weeks time my personal clock is going to roll over 50

and to celebrate the occasion 

Mr Madness and Mess and his illustrious partner in crime, my gorgeous daughter, 

are organising a birthday bash.

I have been told not to do, organise, or plan anything!

But they have told me it has a theme,

it's a South Pacific Island beach party!

I'm thinking-

coconuts

ukuleles

floral leis

 drinks in pineapples, 

grass skirts,

palm trees,

pina coladas

and music, just imagine the music!

Mr Madness and Mess is even going to get his band back together for the occasion 

and has been hard at it practicing on his drums!

Bring it on I say!!

You just gotta love these kiwi expats!

This pic was borrowed from Lilla's blog,

Just Lilla

It's her Noel Christmas banner and she has videos up that you can watch and learn how to make one just like it.

She creates some gorgeous stuff, 

she's very clever...

but gee she's a kiwi, I mean, it goes without saying! LOL 

Thanks Lilla!!

A Gorgeous Sunday

It is a stunningly beautiful day today,

 it is even hard to trawl through days and remember one quite as nice.

 A gentle breezes kisses the tops of the tallest trees,

everyone wants to stop what they're doing and soak up the heat.

I must remember to thank you all for all the good wishes I received on starting my new job. 

I was treated to a lovely morning tea on my first day, to welcome me.

And I find I'm working with a lovely group of people.

I am left wondering what's happened to my leisurely life of crafting!

However I managed to finish stitching my addition to Patty's project.

I used some vintage Coats 60 crochet cotton to embellish her piece.

So now it's finished and will go in the mail.

It's the last of the five stitching projects, so it means mine will return home soon

and I'll get to see what gorgeous things Patty, Linda, Nathalie and Margaret added to mine!

The countdown begins!

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely weekend!

Carole :))

Miss Maude the House Mouse

You will remember Miss Maude the House Mouse?

She's the mouse with attitude!

Well there are 2 more stitcheries completed.

There are 6 stitcheries in the set, only 3 more to do.

Of course she's pretty laid back at times!

These original Madness and Mess patterns will be for sale in my Etsy store very soon. (you can find the link on the right)

Combine them to make a wall hanging, make individual hangings, or use them to embellish.

Have fun,

Carole :)

Of cats and cake...

The last few days have been pretty darn hairy, and I'm not referring to abnormal rates of growth here! 

We have had gale force winds, hail storms thunder and lightning and torrential downpours.Over the last 2 weeks we have had just over 240mm of rain.

We have lost a few more trees to the wind, blown over as the ground was so waterlogged they couldn't hold on any longer.

Poor Shelby has watched as her dog kennel has been thrown around the back lawn like it was a cereal box. And it's not a small kennel either!

The animals have spent quite a bit of time sleeping indoors, in their beds, or at our feet :)

Buddy and Wednesday don't normally curl up together, but sometimes when it's scary outside, it's nice to have someone to cuddle up next to.

As I am starting my new job on Wednesday I decided I had better do some baking, something nice to put in my lunch box :))

A large slab of fruit cake. 

And of course, I had to do some quality control checks!

It passed. 

Have a nice day!

Carole :)

Need a quick personal handmade gift for someone?

I was talking to Shane recently about making a gift for someone and mentioned these book covers. They are quick, colourful and handmade by you.

Here is a quick tutorial so that you can zoom off and make your own!

I use small journals or notebooks, although using a 2011 diary would make a great gift :))
You can use any size book, but I like the smaller sizes as these can easily be kept in a handbag. I buy mine at a local stationery store which means that when one book is full I can buy another and slip into the cover.

* Measure your book, then find some pretty fabric and some batting.
* Make a sandwich of 2 layers of fabric with a layer of batting in the middle.
*Trim them so that they are about 2 inches larger than the size of the book.
*Quilt the fabric, and embellish it if you chose, add stitches, buttons, applique etc...

* After quilting the fabric, trim the fabric down to allow 1/2" around the book, so the fabric is 1/2" bigger than the book.
* Sew with a zigzag stitch right around the outside edge of the fabric.
* Cut 2 more pieces of fabric to match, fold under one long edge and stitch down it. Add any embellishments you want to to this fabric.
* To attach these to the cover, sew around 3 sides so that they form a pocket, you will slip you book cover into these.

*Get some cord, wool, or strings and cover them with a zigzag stitch to make a decorative cord.
* Sew one end of this cord to the centre top inside of your cover fabric. Attach a bead to the other end. This will hang down between your pages, make sure it is long enough when cutting your original threads.

* Slip your book into the cover! :))

You can normally make one of these covers from scraps you have at home. I have had mine for 3 years now. Each year I replace it with a new diary.

On these ones below I zigzag stitched a bunch of mixed fibres to the outside of the cover fabric once they were finished.

Hope this inspires you!
Have fun,

Carole :)

fun with mail art

The girls in my card class have almost finished their first card.
We're getting it ready to mail :))

Nothing nicer than receiving some pretty mail!

Carole :))

Catching up...

I have been trying to catch up on projects that have been calling my attention.
I hope to get as many completed before I start work.
I'll still be busy in my sewing room, but I won't be able to pass the time of day so leisurely from next week.

One of these projects was quilting this large quilt made by my friend Christine.
It is the same Leanne's House quilt pattern that I made last year, but she has done hers in blues.
She doesn't have a machine that she can stipple with, so she asked me if I could do it.

She asked that I do a large stipple pattern all over it, but leaving the wee stitcheries unquilted.
I said yes without thinking of the implications of quilting someone elses beautiful work.
Knowing they have put many hours of love and attention into it, I am hoping it is ok.
What if it's not? What if she doesn't like it? Now I'm stressing!

I think I'll do some more work on Miss Maude the House Mouse, she always makes me smile!

Carole :)

Now this will be a challenge!

I have enrolled to do an online class, participate in one, not teach it :)
I am going to be challenged from all directions.
And what's the class on I hear you ask,
well it is with Jane LaFazio, and it runs thru Joggles.com

It is a watercolour painting class over 6 weeks.
And of course I can't draw for nuts,
so it's going to be very interesting to see what develops on paper! LOL

These 2 pics are examples of her work, I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can make something that remotely resembles what I'm looking at! LOL

I'll keep you posted!
Carole :)

Fantastic News!!

Well I'm very excited, I have managed to secure a job!!
Can't believe it, amazing :))

After finishing university 2 months ago, I have applied for several jobs with no success at all. Then with the advice of my daughter I looked at my CV. tweaked it a bit and the first job I applied for I got an interview!

It's amazing going into an interview to think that you may be competing against younger more talented applicants, and then receiving a phone call to say they picked you!

It is a six month contract, with our local City Council with the possibility of it becoming permanent full time at the end of 6 months.

My official job title will be Communication Officer with the Executive Support Unit,
(which sounds amazing, but really
I am just writing the press releases that go out to the media and public.)

I don't think it's quite sunk in yet, I start in 2 weeks time.

I'm chasing olives!
DRINKS ALL ROUND ON ME!! LOL

Carole :)))