Fruit on the Wall

art. house. mum.

I finally got these great words up on our walls.  It was perfect timing really, as a few days after I hung it there was a Kids' Talk at church about how our lives bear fruit which is evidence of the kind of tree (person) we really are.

I always appreciate the graphic (and short) nature of Kids' Talks and this one was so easy to remember and talk about later because Mr B had three of his kids stand up the front with him holding branches cut of real trees... firstly branches off a dead tree, secondly branches off a rose bush, and thirdly branches off a mandarin tree complete with a fruit waiting to be picked.  I don't hear many sermons these days, so it is nice to at least carry a bite sized idea home in my mind and heart.  Thanks Mr B.



And here's how our fruit is hanging now.  It's a good list to breeze through... but a bit uncomfortable around the bit where it gets to "Patience"  and then positively squirmish at the "Self Control" end... Thank goodness it's not about being perfect, but being MADE perfect.

g

Three Things...

art. house. mum.

1.  A Happy Birthday...  with a home style party of close friends... and a very homemade cake.  Not Pinterest-worthy, but still declared "The. Best. Cake. Ever." by Hope, and seconded by Sammy's "Yeah.Yeah. My Wocket Ship!"

2.  A new pet worm found while Papa was planting a hedge.  It took some serious negotiations to secure the release of the poor thing... he may have been loved to death otherwise... and he's got work to do in our garden!  (The photo was a major part of the negotiations... I may have promsied to get it printed out too...)

3.  Pumkins!  The stack is now happily diminished, but what a joy to pull up a vine and find a stack of food just waiting to be shared...

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art. house. mum.

Ever since I inherited this painting I have wanted to reframe it.  Not that I had any issues with the frame.  But the colour of the linen slip was too dark and it seemed to lock the painting in a box.

So today I took the painting in to work with the idea of looking at reframing it.  We had only just begun looking at frames when my friend commented that the fillet would be easily re-coloured...

Re-painting a slip is an easy job to do at home if you have the paint... and I really don't mind the frame itself.  So that was my afternoon sorted.  I just used some left over interior acrylic house paint.  Honestly, I think that I will jig the colour when I have another free afternoon but in the meantime I feel like the painting has been given a new lease on life.

... It deserved a new lease on life.  It's an oil painting of a building near where I grew up and it has a tonne of meaning for our family.  The artist is Douglas Pratt, a Brisbane impressionist who lost his job as an engineer and was forced to fall back on his art to support himself.  Aint art grand.

g

Three Things... Colour Inspiration

art. house. mum.

I was getting this group of cards together for a project and was struck by the beauty of the jumble of colours.

I hope you find them as intriguing as I do...

Wishing you and yours a great week!  g

The Magic Hour

art. house. mum.

It wasn't just the cotton that we enjoyed on our farm day... Check out the magic light.

And I had forgotten to take my camera... these are phone photos...

Isn't it fun to play with light?

g

Fruit

art. house. mum.

I go to a great Bible study group where we use the KYB (Know Your Bible) studies.  It is one of the coolest things that I do.  

The studies have been sparking thoughts in my mind about what being a Christian is. I grew up as a Christian and part of me hates the word (sorry, but it's true).  Admitting to being a Christian is such a loaded thing.  So much culture of so many different types is associated with Christianity and so many people have such strong associations with Christianity and the Christian church.  Obviously, not all of these associations are good. And many people seem to have really strong, emotive and conflicting feelings about Christians.  Me too.

But what KYB lately has been reminding me is that the important thing is following the man of Jesus. 

I feel relieved with that thought.  If other people find it easiest to throw a label on me, then I guess that the best fit is "Christian".  But in my heart I just want to follow Jesus.  The way that he viewed the world was and is revolutionary.  And the people who I see puting his teaching into practice are the people who I genuinely admire. 

Jesus told his followers to 

• Love their enemies
• Be generous and not to tell anyone about it
• Care for others before themselves
• Be peacemakers
• Talk to God
• Be humble
• Look past cultural boundaries
• Take care of the disadvantaged
• Be responsible
• Be smart

There's a lot which I have missed in this list but it's not a bad start is it?  Just imagine if we all lived like that!

So anyway, I've been inspired lately to get back to the roots of what I believe and look more closely at the teachings of Jesus.  When he left the earth (crazy, hey, going up in a cloud after rising from the dead... don't be fooled by people who tell you that Christians are conservative and unimaginative) he said that he would send someone to guide his followers and give them good counsel, the Holy Spirit.  And he said that by believing in him (Jesus) they would have access not only to freedom from their own failures, but also to the Holy Spirit.  And the Holy Spirit would be evident to others by the way they would live their lives... the fruit of the Spirit.

So I thought that it would be great to have one of those designer lists made up... one that lists the fruit of the Spirit.. something to encourage our family to be striving to live lives that shine.

I'm planning on getting this one printed onto canvas so I've made it to fit on a 40x55cm canvas.  You are welcome to click here to download a PDF image.  It's a big file but that's so that if you want to print it for a 30x45cm you shouldn't lose any text in the edges.  If you plan on printing more than one or two for yourself then drop me an email to confirm permission, especially if you intend to sell them.  Thanks.

Cotton Day

art. house. mum.

There's something good for the soul about driving out of town to spend a day on a farm.  How cool to be invited to show the kids a cotton harvest in full swing.

After some laying down of the law (safetly first!) we got on in and started helping out.  Okay, I'm kidding... we gazed at the fields in awe; we gazed at big machines in awe;

we gazed at some more big machines in awe; 

the kids picked cotton to try to help a broken-down picker (hmmm, well their heart were good); 

they embraced the hard work of helping push all the cotton out of the picker bucket into the module builder (read softest jumping castle with the best outlook ever); 

jumped in the aforementioned piles of soft and fabulous cotton (my photos just don't do the fun of this activity justice... but if anyone ever invites you to jump in cotton you should definately jump at the chance); and generally lapped up the perfect weather and magic twighlight light.

Thanks guys!  This is the stuff that famliy memories are made of... Sammy's still carting around his little bag of cotton...

g

Little Steer

art. house. mum.

This is a little steer who looked like he had the softest ears. 

I had such fun painting him and I'm glad to say that he's gone to a happy home in the mountains.

I hope he's bringing joy in his new paddock...


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Glasses

art. house. mum.

One of the important things that I keep in my handbag is my glasses.  These things let me see clearly.  And when I saw this glasses fabric I loved it.

Perfect for the new handbag which I was aching to make.  I learnt so much making the last one that the challenge of a new one sounded like fun.

So here's the next step, a brainstorm, a list and a mantra of "if you don't do it then you don't know what mistakes you should avoid next time..."

The dreaded cutting began (I hate that you can't unpick the cutting), the sewing began, and so did the mistakes!

But still, with perseverance, a little unpicking and some long moments stitting still and thinking, finally I had a handbag to wear on my shoulder.

There are things that I got wrong... like the tension of the stitches, but there are things that I got right...

And tonnes of things that I learned.

And again I am enjoying the creation which tucked under my arm is so darn functional and funky!

Somewhere To Hide Some Nappies

art. house. mum.

The simple truth is that lovely fabric begets lovely things.  (I'm pretty sure that "begets" is the wrong word there but I'm choosing to leave it... it sounds poetic and deep.  I like it.  Sorry.)

This is one of those projects which I discussed with a friend, looked at some great patterns for, then decided to freestyle with my own concocted pattern.

It's just a simple nappy wallet for a friend who's expecting twins.  I hope that it makes her smile when she manoeuvres her big old double pram into a change room somewhere and deals with one or more of the never ending stream of dirty nappies.  My twins specialised in synchronised pooing.  Not sure if others do too...

May we all find beautiful fabric to brighten our hearts as we do our most disliked jobs.

g