.pop-up shop. June 3, 2013

Just recently, a friend asked me to participate in her pop-up shop coming up soon at her home.  I am rather excited to be part of it, given my apparent lack of confidence to take on markets.  So I’m turning into a proverbial busy little beaver, making bits and pieces for this event.  Here’s a glimpse of my wares, and of course, anyone local is welcome to come along! Click on the image above for a larger view, or the details are below:

Winter Warming Pop-up Shop
Friday 14th June
31 Cormiston Road, Riverside, Tasmania
11am-4pm

Love Ruth

 

.crafty month. April 27, 2013

April has been a very crafty month for me…everything from bunting cards, cheesecake (my first successful cheesecake in years!), twine-wrapped jars and a knitted scarf.
I haven’t knitted since I was a kid! I had bought some bobble yarn a few weeks ago, and needed a project for it. So this cozy scarf has now been created. It was therapeutic, and only took one evening to complete. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not, because it could become addictive, and I am certainly not looking for new crafts. But sometimes they come looking for me, and I don’t like to be rude.

Hope you are enjoying whatever crafty pursuits you have going on right now. Or maybe you just love to stalk other people’s pursuits online, like I do much of the time! Either way, hope you are being inspired and fulfilled in your creativity.

Love Ruth

.Create/Happy/Create. March 27, 2013

My blog won’t allow me to include photos in my posts anymore so just posting a picture separately…frustrating! This is a polymer clay necklace I made recently. Polymer clay is serious fun to play with – possibilities are endless!

.create/happy/create.

I am at my happiest when I am able to create something of worth.  Yes, that includes making crafty objects of some sort, but it also includes relationships, atmosphere and other intangible things.  No doubt this is a human kind of a trait, not exclusive to crafty types.  I think we were created to be creative and no matter what your level of giftedness in this area, there is an inbuilt part of us that was never intended to just take from the environment or the people around us…we need to add or give back in some way to feel truly fulfilled. 

What is it that does that for you?  Find more time to do that. 

Love Ruth

 

.friday faves. June 29, 2012

It’s been a while since I’ve done a favourites collection.  So I decided today was a good day to share some!  They are all wooden items that I’ve collected over the years, and all have their own little story…

Top left: Jordanian Bedouiun woman

This little treasure comes from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan when we visited there in 2000.  She was bought at a desert Arabic bazaar and reminds me of that incredible country, it’s beautiful people and the unforgettable time we spent there.

Top right: Giraffe push puppet

Apparently these toys with a disk on the bottom that you push to make them dance are called push puppets…I only just discovered that.  This one I bought on a trip to Melbourne in 2008 for Ethan when he was 2, (yes, I know, it’s not suitable for children under 3, but it lived on the top shelf of the bookcase until he was big enough to not try and digest its parts!) and has become a favourite of Ethan & Eli’s.

Bottom left: Babushka dolls

I have a small collection of these type of dolls.  They get called everything from Babushka dolls, Russion dolls, Matyroshka dolls and Nesting dolls.  Call them what you want, I adore them.  I have so far limited my collection to 3 sets which includes 14 individual dolls whey they’re all displayed in a row.  These ones were bought on a last-hurrah-girlfriend-trip to Hobart with my wonderful friend Jodie almost 2 years ago before she left to live in Africa serving with Mercy Ships. 

Bottom right: That Vintage Birdcage pendant

It was probably impossible for me to include a favourites collection without a bird, right?  This pendant was my Mother’s Day gift last year and is made by the very talented Sophie Hill of That Vintage, right here in Launceston.  Tasmanian wood and crafting, and worn often by a proud Tasmanian.

Hope your day is looking and feeling fantastic.

Ruth x

.my adulthood as a child. June 28, 2012

I find so much enjoyment in experiencing childhood as an adult.

I know that is a very silly sounding statement.  But for me having children has been a little like that – experiencing childhood as an adult.

I had a childhood that is full of good memories.  Not perfect but pretty wonderful in the simplest of ways.  Long summer holidays spent with family, neighbours and best friends.  Birthday parties, weekend skating rink visits, playing board games with my brother, riding bikes around the neighbourhood, dressing up in Mum’s clothing…the list goes on. 

But before you know it, you are all grown up and  instead of being the carefree child of the family, you are required to be the responsible adult, and in my case, mother.  But I have found that in between the extremely challenging times of being a mum, I am really enjoying childhood again by joining in with them and thinking up ideas to help them grow their own happy impressions of these days. 

I am enjoying it in a much different way to how I did when I was a child.  I now know how fast it goes, and how the memories you take with you throughout your life are not archived minute by minute for you to replay when you’d like to, but more by the impression it leaves.  Details can sometimes be sketchy even though you lived through every second of those days/months/years of your childhood. 

One thing I’d play back if I did have a minute by minute archive would be the times when my Dad played with my brother and I.  I have lots of memories of playing with Mum, because she was at home with us much of the time.  But those times with Dad are vague in my mind, and although I know they existed, I find them hard to pull out of the memory banks.  Having said goodbye to him 8 years ago makes it all the more important to me that I remember these things.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons for my excessive photo-taking…capturing as many moments as I can in visual form so it is not forgotten.  Then again, I hope my sons will not be as forgetful as I am!

I am happy to say I have no regrets from my childhood.  At least none I can recall!!  And I’m pretty determined to not have regrets from my children’s childhood.  I’m not intending to make it perfect for them, or even take away their hassles, crises or inconveniences.  I’m just making it as darned healthy as I can.

Love Ruth x

.berry mousse {thanks to torie jayne}. June 21, 2012

How delicious does this creamy fruit mousse look?  I think it’s a must try…not just because it looks beautiful, but because it sounds very easy, and that’s my favourite kind of recipe.   

You will find the recipe in the blog post here at Torie Jayne, a most beautiful and inspiring blog.  Everything she posts is just amazing, and her photography skills are wonderful too.  Sp enjoy!

Ruth x