DIY

Trash to Treasure

Sarah James-Wallace

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I recently stumbled upon the blog collectivegen.com by Geneva Vanderzeil. There’s a great tutorial on there about how to make DIY textured chalk paint and turn ugly vases into something more beautiful! This is a great project to make if you’re quarantined at home, as you only need the vases you want to transform, a small amount of paint and some baking powder. I’ll link the tutorial here.

I had a go using some vases I found in an op shop for a couple of dollars (pictured above). It was a quick project and I’m really happy with the results :

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Let me know if you have a go and how they turn out – social isolation is a great time for crafting!

Kid’s Parties

Parisian Pâtisserie

Sarah James-Wallace

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I’ve got to say that this theme has to be one of my favourites. I studied French at school and university and have long been a bit of a Francophile! Parisian parties were really trending a few years ago, but have gone off the boil now, so there wasn’t much party ware around. Fortunately, it was pretty easy to find some props from around my house and my local party hire shop had some Eiffel Tower cutouts to complete the scene. I decided to go for a more Provincial look, rather than the classic pink and black associated with Paris.

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You only turn nine once and what a way to celebrate! When planning the party, I came up with the idea to turn the space into a pretend cafe complete with menus and table service. My eldest daughter, Portia was a lovely waitress and Murray dressed up in his tuxedo and played the part of a hilarious French waiter with many amusing facial expressions. The girls thought he was an absolute hoot and loved ordering from the menu even though the waiter’s accent was a little hard to understand!

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A few weeks prior to the party I started to make an apron for each guest from some oilcloth I had leftover from my Mexican themed 40th birthday party. I had a lot of issues with the bias binding around these, so was kind of regretting my decision, but once I’d made a few I felt as if I had to keep going. It was a relief to finish the last one! The girls looked amazing in their aprons and they were fun to wear for the cooking we did together at the party (Madeleines) and the cupcake decorating competition.

I raided my cake decorating stash and placed lots of toppings out for the girls to decorate with. They were very creative! On the menu for the party were the following French delights : homemade chocolate eclairs, chocolate mousse, pain au chocolate, cupcakes and of course macarons.

To decorate the space I used a cardboard booth from Ikea I have had for years with some croissant decorations I added hanging from the top. I was excited to find the croissant Christmas decorations in the discount bin at Myer for only 50c each last time I was in the city.  I also decorated Harriet’s bike with some flowers and used an old ladder I bought from an antique fair to hold my collection of French props.

The party bags were paper bags I had at home embellished with paper doilies and free printables from here and here. Harriet is not a cake lover, so requested a chocolate smash cake instead. I had to have two attempts to achieve success! My first attempt with a pudding basin was not successful, so I recommend using a china bowl instead if you wish to make one. It certainly was a lot of fun for the birthday girl to bash her way through with a hammer and I’m happy with the way it turned out, looking almost like a French bonnet!
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I’ll leave you with a photo of the after party wreckage. A great time was had by all!

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Kid’s Parties

Parisian Party

Sarah James-Wallace

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It seems a bit frivolous to write about a Parisian party at a time when the world is battling COVID-19, but I guess we all need a few distractions to get us through this time.

I’ll write about all the party details in my next post, but today I’m sharing the details of the invitations. I really wanted to have a cooking party and Harriet was set on a French theme, so I decided to combine the two to have a French patisserie party.

I used this tutorial to make the whisks pictured. For the written invitation I used some photocopies from Harriet’s picture books about Paris and glued them onto shipping tags with some stickers and embellishments I had left over from my brief flirtation with scrapbooking. I was really happy with the way they turned out and the kids loved them too!

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Hope is really important in tough times like we’re experiencing at the moment. The Psalms are really comforting to read in times of trouble.  Praying Psalm 91 over my family at the moment:

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Entertaining

Lover’s Holiday

Sarah James-Wallace

495A8F81-F561-4F33-B4FB-EF75280A3E92I received a Valentine’s Day card in the post at boarding school when I was sixteen. I still remember the thrill of seeing the envelope waiting for me on the letter stand as I walked back across the road to the boarding house to collect my lunch and check for mail (both things keenly anticipated). I didn’t know who it was from and I still don’t – I love the mystery in that! I wonder if I’ll ever find out who was my very secret admirer?

Although some may be cynical about a day that’s set aside to celebrate love, I enjoy the whole concept and relish the celebrations.  For a bit of fun and to include the kids in the celebrations (my husband and I usually go out to dinner), I’ve started an annual tradition of a Valentine’s Day breakfast for all of us. (Last year’s event is here). It’s usually a brief affair before we dash off to school and work. The menu is the same each year – croissants and jam and juice – all special treats! I pull out my special glasses, china and some pretty napkins, pick some flowers from the garden, light some candles and throw on a pretty tablecloth (in this case a length of Monet inspired fabric from Spotlight).

B4FD1140-4330-49E3-9BB6-BFD0B9FAB54ETo make it even more special I like to include a small treat   at each child’s place setting. There are lots of American websites with some amazing printables for Valentine’s Day. The one I used above is from The House That Lars Built.   An otherwise ordinary day made special! What about you – do you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

 

 

Life Musings

Set your eyes . . .

Sarah James-Wallace

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It’s been a while, but I’m back! I don’t know about you, but I always find the start of the new school year consumes an awful amount of time and energy and contains a lot of apprehension about the unknown. It’s about now (almost four weeks in), that I feel I can exhale and then draw a deep breath in, setting my shoulders towards what I now know this school year will look like.

Starting school again after the long holidays is like changing the course of a huge sailing ship which has caught the winds of freedom and now has to be turned back around with great effort and set on a more structured path steaming towards the goals of the new year.

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One thing that really stood out to me over the holiday break was the failings of our life here on earth (perfection is just not attainable here) and the need to set my eyes on heavenly things. The water above looks perfect, but lurking just below the surface was a whole army of stingers, menacing with their long stringy black tentacles. As beautiful as it looks, swimming here was like running knowingly through a swarm of bees and just as painful!

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My earlier reminder of the need to store up treasures in heaven, rather than here on earth came from our Christmas tree. Here it is above, looking PERFECT. In fact, it was the most perfect looking Christmas tree we have ever had! (we hauled it all the way back from a farm in Wanneroo after a weekend escape to see U2 in concert). Fast forward a week or two and a bout of particularly hot weather (some of it while we were away), saw us return to a tree that was drooping at the top and starting to go crispy. Zoom in on the photos below and you will see!

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Now that we’re back to real life and reality, I’ve some exciting things to share with you in the next few weeks – all the details of our annual Valentine’s Day breakfast and  all the fun of Harriet’s French birthday party. Stay tuned!

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

 

Christmas

Christmas is nearly here!

Sarah James-Wallace

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Can you guess what my theme is this year? I made these two nutcrackers from a Tilda pattern just before things started becoming so crazy busy.

I’m excited that Christmas is nearly here! You don’t have to be a child to love the mystery of Emmanuel, God with us.

I’ll be taking a break for the rest of the school holidays and look forward to catching up again in February 2020.

Have a very merry and blessed Christmas!

Much love,

Sarah xox

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Christmas

O Come All Ye Faithful

Sarah James-Wallace

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It’s been quite a bit longer than the promised week (I’ve been caught up with Christmas festivities and end of school events), but I’m back to share the details of the annual bookclub Christmas dinner I hosted recently.

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As always, it was a beautiful evening with amazing food which we bring and share, joy, laughter and wonderful conversation. I often pick the theme for the table decorations almost a year in advance, when I have a chance to read the Christmas magazines and become inspired after all the busyness of the season has died down in the new year. This year I chose a green, white and orange theme.

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At each place setting was a pomander (clove studded orange), which my Mum had helped to make (in between ferrying girls to dance concerts), the weekend before. These smell amazing and if it is not too humid will last for a long time. I also made some feathers out of old book pages for each setting which I stamped with some ink. I try to tie the book theme in somewhere! The little sprig of berries was from my ficus tree, which happened to be fruiting just at the right time of year and to look very festive.

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Down the centre of the table I used some pine branches overlaid with some twinkle lights and the beautiful Australian Christmas tree, which is bright orange and looks very celebratory. I also used some antique jelly moulds containing tea lights down the centre of the table.

934C29ED-B20E-43D0-9C62-7A2AC4BC933E Finally, the pièce de résistance, this beautiful cherry and lemon jelly (from the latest edition of Delicious magazine), which was my contribution to our delicious feast. It was all a lot of fun and I can’t wait until next year!

Christmas

Sparkle and Shine

Sarah James-Wallace

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Christmas is a wonderful sparkly, shiny time of the year when we celebrate all that is good with the world. Our annual bookclub Christmas dinner is one of the highlights of the social calendar. On the eve of hosting this year’s dinner, I’m sharing these photos from a past event.

The theme for this dinner was silver and white. It was fun to wrap a present for each place setting (a Christmas mug), using the traditional Japanese technique of wrapping in cloth (furoshiki). This is a great way to wrap using materials that can easily be recycled.

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As we celebrate Christmas in all its shiny and sparkling goodness, I’m reminded of the greatest gift giver.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Next week I’ll share all the details of this year’s event!

Christmas

DIY Christmas Wreath

Sarah James-Wallace

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I love making things at Christmas, but I often find myself running out of time with all the other end of year events that pop up. I’ve started early this time to see if I can squeeze in a few projects. I had a lovely time making the wreath above which was inspired by a Mollie Makes calendar I saved from a few years ago.

I started with a wire coat hanger which my son kindly bent into a circle shape for me. It’s great having kids who’ve grown old enough to help you with things like this! Next, I cut some long thin strips of Christmas fabric, put some multigrip glue on the back of the fabric and wound it around the wire, overlapping it as I went. I also used a strip of fabric to make a hanger. I glued this together, but also put a row of hand stitching at the base to make it secure.

After this I glued some vintage Christmas cards, which I had collected over the years from antique shops and fairs onto the wire base. I love anything vintage (and especially old cards), but you could use some more modern ones if you prefer. I left the cards to dry overnight and then stuck on some embellishments and some old stamps from my childhood stamp collection.

Ta da! A fun and quick project, finished and ready to hang once I added some fresh pine branches.

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Do you run out of time for the fun of Christmas crafting with all the busyness of this time of year or do you start your projects way ahead of the festive season?

Christmas

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Sarah James-Wallace

3C4C8EC7-C08E-4216-907B-30B2232A627D This is the second part of my post about our Christmas tree themed Christmas from last year. Last week I shared all the details about the food and today I’m sharing the table setting details. One of the fun things I like to do each year, is to make a special little present to put on the Christmas table for each person. For each of the female guests, I made the trees pictured above from vintage napkins I found in an op shop and cinnamon sticks.

4A4585CF-D66D-4BA0-9250-66056B53A558 For the boys I made cars in jars parked in the snow with mini Christmas trees strapped to the roof (pictured above). These were easy to make and a lot of fun to put together. The link to the tutorial I used is here. The men received some “Christmas tree” chocolate from Cadbury wrapped in Christmas tree paper with a sprig of fresh pine and a Christmas bell on top.

66A412CB-FFA9-4894-9919-F31F5A82212A We managed to find some Christmas tree serviettes and I made little individual Christmas trees from old corks and rosemary sprigs to place at each table setting. The tutorial for making these is here.

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Even the crackers had Christmas trees on them! For the table centrepiece I filled one of Mum’s old wooden boxes with some freshly cut conifer and some white pillar candles. It all looked stunning and my little nephews loved the cars in jars! I’ll leave you with a photo of my cute nephew impatiently waiting for all the festivities to start!

E50197CB-390E-411F-8952-AE9FEBB7EEE0 More Christmas decorating ideas coming next week!