full circle - Hope: in unlikely places

 so here is all the info

if you are remotely creative

or crafty

or arty

this is for YOU ....

the theme for this full circle is:

HOPE: in unlikely places

.... now this of course could lead into the idea

that this exhibition will be hung over advent but

really its all up to the individual's interpretation

so a circle

of some form

its really that simple

we've had plants & text & music

& collage & patchwork

& stencil printing & painting

& drawing & silk inks

& screen printing
& plaster & stitching
& photography & felting

& construction & crochet

..... anything goes

I keep saying ...

"its really not about talent

its about joining in"

so come on & join in!!

the below piece was made by the lovely Maryanne

who lives in Sydney ..... see you do not need to be local!

titled: "Paper weights"

this is a personal favourite of mine

& i thought it might suggest something of 

the theme this time ....

perfectly timed so that from right now you have 

5 weeks

now that is plenty of time

so go on & get those creative juices flowing

if you'd like more info

or to have me email you this flyer

as a PDF i'm happy to oblige

if you'd like to join in & help us tell the world then go for it

blog chat write

join us on facebook too!! & share ...

https://www.facebook.com/abcfullcircle

full circle .... around again

last year's huge success

of our first

full circle 

project
left me in awe of the way as humans
sometimes we just need the prompt or the avenue
to express ourselves
& really ..... we should have the confidence to do this always

visual statements

in the form of a ... yes .... a circle

the theme was simple

"full circle"

we had 67 entries

multi aged & a good mix of gender

from all over, including interstate

many were for sale

it was wonderful to walk through
a delight to be part of

every full circle art work was carefully photographed
& keren created a book of memories & prayers
every full circle piece .... a stunning collection

here it is ... some of my favourite pages
and guess what!??
its happening again & you can be part of it
do join in ....  

purple & green

 so way way back ....

when we had a different address

i organised a block swap 

the idea was that it might be the perfect way

to keep in-touch with some friends

thus began the block swaps of 2009 & 2010

09 was all purple & green

here's the "how to tutorial"

it was all great fun & now holds some lovely memories

so what we all did ...

each month we had the 'homework' of sewing up 12 or so blocks

working with the block design & size & variations

the only rule was that we were to include one of 2 base fabrics

any other fabrics were to be purple or green of choice

we'd get together, rotating visiting one another's homes

there was show n'tell & lots of laughs

each time we always sewed an extra block ....

went into a box intended for our

Prayers & Squares at ABC

i was supposed to have gifted this a very long time ago

not sure what happened at the time

but then it was packed away ....

just last week i passed it on to mum

(my mum .... yep she's a crafty type too & she is a major part of P&S's)

last wednesday .... she arrived with purple & green blocks in hand

would you believe that ....

that very day there was a prayer quilt request in purple & greens!!!

not kidding ... a God thing i think!

so this lap sized prayer quilt was pieced together

for a special lady who played a part in our ABC's history

we hope you feel the love & prayers of all the peoples

from now & then from ABC Mabel .... you are loved

these photos are from our time during church yesterday

when the ties were tied ... & a prayer is said

i'm so pleased with this end result

it seems that it is all in God's timing

so a big thankyou to Katherine & Kylie & Sam & Louey

& Wendy & Nicole & Jo & Lizzie & Jenny 

i love the journey that was this block swap

we really should all get together with our 'finished' quilts!!

you can see a glimpse of Katherine's finished p&g block swap

quilts over here .... she made them into twin quilts for her 2 older girls

i know that Nicole has sewn all her blocks together

& here's mine .... um .... cough .... still not finished ...

however it is now all at least pieced together as a finished quilt top!!

i added another strip layer to each of my blocks ...

& then

the following year

there was the red & aqua swap

with a slightly different crowd of friendly faces

how i met my awesome quilty bloggy friend Bron ...

that's another story .....

amen to all the seasons of life

 

hindsight

what is it about hindsight that demands our gratefulness?

i used this very idea today when chatting to a friend

i know its not at all settling to have it said to you

in fact it can be really irritating

particulary when you're in the midst of the storm

but you know its true!

 some hindsight from my past...

i'm now thankful that i had an incompetent leader  

one factor in my 

decision making to resign from teaching way back

or perhaps i may still been there?

no one wishes to be the one not 'moving' forward

if that hadn't been then i may not have grown

i would never have worked for & with my father in his business

i would never have had the amazing sales

motivating leading business experience that is the great world of Tups

or those precious friends i have because of it all

i'm grateful for all those experiences

for teaching for small business & for design

& also we needed the 'no pressure' in our 'own time'

thing going on with all the ivf back then

that all would have been next to impossible if i'd still been teaching

in fact i was thinking that had we had a baby straight off the mark

way back then .... well we'd have a 10+yr old now

i'm sure our story would be very different

i doubt i'd be writing a blog

i doubt we'd have entertained moving countries

we'd most likely be still living where we were

& it was never quite the 'right' fit for me

so we probably would not have moved house

we wouldn't have the same 'in-common' connections with friends we do now

we've actually been in our new-to-us home

for 2 years now ... can't quite believe that!

that's half my blogging life ...

if we hadn't moved we probably would have 'moved-on' from ABC

it was starting to seem like that should be what came next

but you know ... God has it in his control

(doesn't seem like its a fair ride alot of the time!)

so with this hindsight

hmm ... well if we'd moved to a completely different suburb 

which was the intended

then our timing & refreshed efforts & contributions 

at ABC would not have been

so that would mean no Playful Market or "full circle"

nor would have a whole host of new friendships

prob no trip to Ambon or time doing Playgroup

we are so thankful for our enriched lives 

full of the thread of people intertwined

in the 'moving home' we were seeking some new adventure

re-starting somewhere we'd like to be for a long long time

settling into roots for Oscar & his education

community & friends

hindsight clicks over in the recesses of my thinking

it says ...."you see ...

the struggle to 'have'

what you think you are looking for

is not always the intended journey

looking back however it is often

what 'now' you realise

what was required ..."

so yeah enJOY your journey

those rolls of thunder make those sun shiny happy days

seem even more brighter

does the weather really matter?

have you noticed i've been gone?

have i been missed?

had an annoying issue with picassa

couldn't up load pics ...

as i don't like to post without photos

i've been forced into some blog-leave

but i kind of needed it

there's been some thinking going on

some exciting stuff & some stuff i've struggled with

& i have also been busy....

working on our Playful Market

its a little market at our Church

that is all fair trade or handmade ... all great quality

it has great personality

its fun & friendly

its an amazing opportunity for our church family 

to work together

we have such fun

we share our God-given gifts

we celebrate together

& we are proud of what we have created!

it open the doors to welcome everyone

lets everyone know that we're a people with compassion

 tolerance creativity playfulness & joy

that we are a people with many stories

we are a people who care

& then there's the little bonus element

... we have the chance to raise funds for worthy causes!

did you come along?

if you missed out on all the fun

come next time

... i'll be sure to give you warning

.... we'll be there no matter the weather

& in my book .... seriously, does the weather really matter??

c'mon people .... come to play!

rain hail or shine

personally i am physically spent today

emotionally i'm on a roller coaster

& i'm already planning .... & tweaking ideas

& thinking ... how to improve

i'm insanely proud of our Playful Market

its a privilege to have created it

& to lead it ...

i almost have no words that can portray this enough

what are you proud of??

i'm proud of doing things 

my own way

of dreaming up original ideas

in everything i do .... 

be it what i make with my hands 

or times spent with people

i work at being just me

to swing it my way with my personality

there's a line in our home

"i've had an idea ..... !"

(Craig often cringes .... what is she about to say!?)

how do you show your unique-ness?

do you make it?

blog it?

sew it?

write it?

bake it?

read it?

draw it?

don't miss out on living your life ... 

be sure you are true to being you

there's no one else to do that!
enJOY your journey

ring a ring a robot

at our play group there is a 'must sing' for annabelle

ring a ring a rosie ...

took me so long to learn the complementary verses

jodie from ric-rac who is an amazing softie designer

posted last night & i just couldn't help but comment ....

love  her sense of humor & her work

a must look

does make me want to make some of these guys

.... fisher in the water
fisher in the sea
they all jump up with a one two three!

... cows are in the meadow

eating buttercups

a-tishoo a-tishoo we all jump up!

... robot in the rocket ship
robot in the sky
they all blast off with a one two fly!

well i made the last part up!! Yay

have a fun day

maybe we'll add this verse to it next week

& start a new world-wide trend!?

what do you guys think?

celebrate the 31

where did 31 days go?

how great it is to look back & see!

 today was all

squiggle drawings &

fresh & silky home made green play dough

isabella @ play group discovering 

that you make a fabric impression in play dough!!

look carefully at the front panel of her dress ... snap

playing postman

running through the sprinkler with a certain little friend

& squirting each other with a hose ... yay for simpler water restrictions!

& buzzing bees ...

sneezing & more sneezing ... tis the season!

planning & ideas

looking back on the last 31 days

... yes there are 31 posts 

... not quite all posted one per day but pretty close!

yay for blogtoberfest!

about a boy

 he's my little world

i adore him ....

today was play group with friends

road bikes

made a starfish

watched the white paint change into mint green

bought up all the plastic fruit

giggled under the parachute

swayed on the seasaw

you go that way & i'll go this way

sang & re-sang old mac donald

hid in the secret garden

spotted trains

enjoyed the sunshine

drove the dump truck laden with paper scraps

did some 'cutting' with said paper scraps

made mummy a birthday cake which included said paper scraps

played with the abacus

ate & ate & still ... had hollow legs!!

helped carry the parcels to the post office 

cuddled pepper

caught up on some zzzz's sprawled on the sofa ....

there was a conversation this morning that went something like this ...

... while watching me slice up a pair or pears!

"what's that?"

"oh, that's the core inside where the seeds are!"

"the seeds .... are they when you plant them in dirt then a pear grows?"

"well .... the seed grows into a tree first then the pears grow on the tree"

"so when the pears grows blood they turn into apples!!"

fair point i guess .... we may need to visit an orchard perhaps!

or plant some kind of fruit tree maybe ...

nb: can't claim to have written the etch-a-sketch text

... thanks Lucas

edit: this is post no.17 for blogtoberfest
& beats my record for most posts in a month ever! yay

14 years

 today's anniversary is one of the great markers in my life

today 14 years ago i married my best friend

marriage is that great binding promise of a future together

of making a life as one ... 

counting back the years .... all part of

our journey ... be sure to enJOY yours
as the years seem to slip by fast ...

 i love tulips .... had 100's everywhere

still love my dress ....

might do the whole bridesmaids dress thing differently now

.... but that's how it goes

.... we were married at our Church

Ashburton Baptist ....

same place my parents were married

my dad & I entered a full, actually over flowing church ... people standing

 the sound of all those voices in song ....

wonderful memories ...
Oscar thinks i'm a princess .... awhhh 
(took me some time but i recently worked out
that when he refers to a 'princess' ... he means a bride!)

thankyou my husband xxoo

the Playful Market @ ABC

 last Saturday we held a wonderful event

the Playful Market ..... 

the story behind it ....

14 months ago I stood behind my own handmade stall 

at another market ... chatting with a great friend, Aretha ...

i waved my arm across the room ....

"we can do this ..... ABC style!"

our Playful Market 

at Ashburton Baptist Church

was born ... its kind of my baby!

its been a massive work in progress

last year's august market brought more than 500 adults

through our doors ... the sun shone 

there was the infamous piggy

we had stalls galore

the baristas were sensational

& more ....

from there the question was repeated

it echoed .... ok lets do it again in 2012

 ..... twice

one just gone & one to plan

so excited about all the involvement of the people in our 

ABC community

we make an amazing team

my cup runneth over

 i know i've mentioned it here once or twice

making no apologies for that

i love it

theres barely anything to do with the PM

that I have not had anything to do with

i have an amazing duo who have my back

thanks to Aretha & Christine

we complement each other v nicely!

i adore the process ... its the journey

i'm always on about enJOYing the journey ....

from dreaming up the ideas both

large & small

to the actual implementation

where so many people join in the create the fun

i love it when people 'own' the process

take on the idea & make it their own

 as part of our Playful Market

i had spotted the idea about blogland

of a treasure hunt using

egg cartons  ... with painted colour blotches

all i needed to make this happen was an amazing 

bunch of enthusiastic

creative

energetic

engaging

funny & caring

young women

thankyou to

kate & bonnie & marie & carolyn & miriam & katrina

 they hopped, skipped & jumped in puddles

all day long

leading all the little children & their families

along the garden path

past the orange flowers

around the green frog pond

catching aqua fishys

un-pegging cute red lady bugs

spotting little grey rock friends

climbing through the deep dark black of the spiders web

walking the tight rope to find the pink hearts

catching falling snow balls

flitting past the purple butterflies

digging like pirates for gold

chasing blue balloons

planting sunflower seeds

.... & so the Rainbow Treasure Hunt 

grew .... just like the magic beanstalk

it was a huge hit

was lots of fun

was all about the experience

seriously ... it was so much fun

& i managed half an hour to go & be 'mum'

& have the priveldge of enJOYing this little journey

ladies you made my heart swell with pride & thanks

 its taken me days & days to process

some of these thoughts

i put so much of myself into every aspect

physically & emotionally

but i would & will do it all again

the 'ripple affect' of an event like this

expands wider than we will know

there were funds raised for the amazing & worthy causes

 we the people of ABC worked together across the generations towards a common goal

& lastly we welcomed many many people in through our doors to have a look at what we are about ...

the outcomes of all of this is almost immeasurable

but in my book it was all an abounding success

 there was face painting & fairy floss & a patchwork demonstration

& the ABC Cafe & the Sausage Sizzle & 2nd Hand Books

& the Lob-a-Choc game & Gingerbread Decoration

 .... & our amazing resident clown Marcella

all fabulous .... & really the weather barely stopped us!

&

then of course there were all our stalls

all Handmade or Fair Trade

for all these details please look over here

 over at our Playful Market blog

i have thanked the mass of people who helped hands on with this event

right here i'd like to thank the people

who helped me personally

who cared for Oscar in some way

who asked how they could help

& particuallry those who jumped on in the join in the

Full Circle project

.... which is a whole other blog post 

(coming soon!)

.... i must on a personal note

say a really really big Thank You

to my husband Craig & my little boy

without their support
& forever entertaining

the well used phrase
"I had an idea!!!"

it simply would not be .... xxxx

full circling

 i can't tell you how excited i am to have had

such a wonderful response to our

FULL CIRCLE project

a 1.8m full circle during production

at our ABC Playgroup

this is still a WIP

 some apples  .... my thinking from back here

this is your sneak peak

i will reveal more later .... WIP

 punching full circles with my little boy!

 being reminded by the stained glass

full circles that are on permanent display

at our ABC .... lovely

  the lovely maryanne of Sew Together

has been busy with her full circle

stunning isn't it!!

my awesome friend bron

from Whippet Good

has also created a masterpiece ...

... that is for sale!!

 another sneaky peak ....

... loving the life cycles themes that are coming through!

cas from Sew It Seams

has been busy sewing sweet little stitches 

that tell a story ... a WIP

 and karen of And so, I sew

has also been busy & had her girls

making wonderful full circles too

they are stunning & you may need to just see them in real life!!

the Full Circle project

is part of our bi-annual 

Playful Market

at Ashburton Baptist Church

Y street or Marquis street entrances

Saturday 28th July 9am - 3pm

Lots to do & see .... you are welcome!

so amazing creativity shining thorough

in circle form

more creative spaces over here