open wide come inside...

hello blogging buddies, hope you have had a great start to the week. we are on the other side of the count down to Easter holidays, 6 weeks to go before the kids start to get thoughts of big bunnies jumping through the window to leave yummy chocolate eggs for them to eat. i just love autumn it really is my favourite season, i don't like the heat and living in Brisbane the humidity gets unbearable some days...bring on the chilly days i say! actually this morning was a bit fresh, YAY ~_~

well happy to say i managed to remember my camera yesterday and took some snaps of Lilly cottage and friends in all its full splendour. the lovely Linda has been sewing up a storm and has even ordered in lots of scrummy goodies to feather your nest.

Lilly cottage and friends is one of those stores that you can spend ages in spotting different little treasures in every nook. have a little peek at all of these pretties...

pretty bag charms

paper cranes

sweet figurines

original paintings

settler bears

hand made hearts

everything beachy

love this display

more settler bears

cute cute cute

french inspired pillows

and my favourite display..easter bunnies...actually those two big chennile bunnies have already found a new home...

happy count down to easter!!

xxxrosey

sundays are fun days

i cant help but love Sundays...i get to spend the day out at Lilly cottage and friends 'playing' in the shop, creating lovely displays, drinking coffee and chatting the day away...whats not to love?? i must confess i haven't finished much this week...i have started lots of pretty designs but...life and kids got in the way this week ~_~ however i managed to find some pretty little gifts to pop in the shop.

3 sets of blue and white china cups and saucers

a lovely set of 'Sarah Kay' swap cards framed in non reflective glass

each one is so sweet! i painted the frames and shabbied them around the corners...they are just so special and would brighten any little girls room.

this one is my favourite.

here they all are...sorry about the photo but they really are sweet in person. (click on the photo to make it larger)

and i have been working on some sweet handmade items for our Easter display and have put together a display of these gorgeous flocked bunnies which i will sell in bundles for people to buy for their own Easter displays.

they are really stunning...i love flocked things especially books!

i really wish you could all pop in to say hello...but for most of you this is the next best thing. i must remember to take my camera in tomorrow and post some pics of the actual cottage on here.

have a great Sunday

xxrosey

squeal if you love squirrels

one of the best things about being at home with my youngest is that i get to go hunting through the thrift shops any day of the week to find quirky little things that want to find a better home out at our cottage. if i was working full time i would NEVER get to go thrifting! i know that my time at home is coming to an end as Claudia enters prep next year and i will have to find some sort of work to pass the days away, but for now i enjoy turning ugly old frames into pretty shabby frames and buying lonely little pieces just longing for a new home.

what a sweet little trio this makes.

this would be perfect in a little girls room on a shabby little shelf

cute cute cute.

i didn't manage to make it out to Lilly cottage and friends yesterday so i am not sure if these guys are still there or have found a new home..the little picture in the frame came from one of my Frankie magazines and was just perfect for the frame.

do you like to thrift? what will your next find be?? that's the best part about thrifting, you never know what you will find.

happy thrifting

xxxrosey

what i am working on this wednesday...

just one little picture to share today... a little stitchery i started for valentines day but ran out of thread and the day has been and gone. i am hoping that it will still capture someones heart, maybe for mothers day ~_~ and in the corner of the picture is something i am working on for as an Easter display out at the cottage which is currently full to the brim of new gorgeous pretties thanks to the lovely Linda. i really wish you could see the little cottage for yourself, Linda fills it with her handmade goodness and adds other pieces that go so well together. i add my little touches here and there but on a much smaller scale. it really is so sweet!

best go and finish the back of the stitchery and keep adding to my Easter treats.

xxrosey

be mine

i do love the month of February...valentines day is closely followed by my birthday so i am treated to a romantic dinner for valentines day and then spoilt with gifts for my birthday. now that we have children going out for dinner involves too many processes so instead we treat ourselves to oysters kilpatrick and a bottle of champagne once the children are tucked up in bed. this year i have the movie valentines day to watch as that was one of my presents in my stocking :) as the budget is tight at the moment i have only asked for 1 gorgeous book and money to buy something from the doll and bear show that will be in my neck of the woods a couple of days after my birthday.

it is hard to believe that we have hit double digits in February, i have already broken one of my promises to myself...i promised that i would list 10 items into my online shops by the end of January...alas that did not happen. i guess i should be proud of myself for listing 2 items before the end of February!!

use the links on the side bar if you wish to take a peek at my listings and if all goes well i will be listing more items before the end of this month (but don't hold your breath)

best be off to do some sort of romantic stitchery and possible paint an item or two...

xxxrosey

curious collection

i don't know about you, but i seem to be drawn to miniature things and usually gasp when i see a little glass lidded box holding tiny treasures inside. over a year ago i bought a glass lidded box and started to fill it with little collectables and added to it every now and then. just recently as i was adding to my box, i realised that now that i share a retail space with Linda and Renata we could be one of those shops that have one of those boxes. so...

here it is ready to be taken out to our little cottage

i made those lockets, very sweet indeed. and the pill boxes are so small and so sweet.

i loved making the lockets and i filled the little bottles with alice in wonderland themed charms

sheet music rolled into this bottle...*swoon*

this little case will live out at the cottage and i will enjoy watching those people, who like me, make a bee line straight for it :)

do you like these sorts of curious collections or am i the only one? i am always on the look out for small and quirky items. what do you love to collect?

wishing you a safe second half of the week and hoping that mother nature settles down.

xxrosey

finally finished some red work stitching!

oh boy am i excited to show you a piece i have been working on for ages...not that it would take me ages if i actually sat down and worked on it for any length of time, but as i only picked it up every now and then it has been a work in progress for far too long.

it is a one off from a design in a gorgeous book i picked up in montville titled 'made in France' it has stunning stitching and embroidery designs and these little dolls just happened to be perfect for this little cotton dress.

i stitched a little crocheted doily 'flower' to the sleeve to add a bit more old world charm to this cotton dress. here it is hanging on the cream walls of Coutts Cottage where our little shop ' Lilly Cottage and Friends' resides. it is a small size 7 (Claudia is modelling it and she is 4 and a half years old) and if it takes your fancy it is $30. it would even be nice as a display in a room rather than being worn.

i must have been a red mood. this little charm is ready to hitch a ride on someones bag ~_~

and here are some cute little cupcakes made by the lovely Linda.

i love these fabric panels that have been used to create pillows and lavender sachets.

it has been a joy to work out at the cottage but i have been rather slow at producing anything at the moment. for me having a household of children (and hubby) on holidays means that my production level is severely hampered and working night shift has been getting in the way as well (4 shifts this week) i need to set myself realistic goals, write them down, and stick to them. i know that we are co-op at the cottage but i shouldn't be leaving it to the others to 'fill' the shop plus the more i make that more i make...if you know what i mean.

anyhow one lovely distraction is catching up with friends and family and on a recent visit to my fathers place my sister had made mini friands for us to share which we did with another of my sisters and her daughter.

i was trying to take a creative picture...mmmmm blueberry, strawberry and passion fruit....

this little tea cup made a better prop.

anyhow, now that the sun is shining and the floods are receding we look forward to a prosperous shabby new year.

xx rosey