Instagram-itis

Is there such a condition?  Instagram-itis.  Because if there is, I think I've got it!!  I resisted for such a long time.  I didn't need another *gadget* to play with, I didn't need another time-stealer.

But that said, I was just a tad envious of the Instagram chatter I was hearing ... after all I love photography and I'm a visual kinda girl.  It seems a natural progression for me :  cut and paste in scrapbooks, collect beautiful images on Pinterest, share photos and be inspired by others on Instagram.

So now, when I finish a book I photograph it and share it on Instagram!!  And this was such a jolly fun read.  If you haven't yet read it, do yourself a favour and jump right in.  I think there may be a movie on the horizon too.

And there's been a lot of fun things happening here at Playing in the Attic to capture and share on Instagram.  Loom Bands for one.  Has this craze reached your shores?  Apparently it's the biggest craze since Barbie, because even the boys love making them as much as the girls.  We have a loom band for every occasion here!!

There has been a huge chunk of time taken up by patting, cuddling, brushing, feeding, walking, playing, photographing and poop-collection of these two adorable girls who are growing before our very eyes.  I just don't get other things done, because I look at them and have an overwhelming need to cuddle them!!

There has been a bit of catch up of the crochet-kind as we are now in Winter and there is a promise that this will be finished Very Soon.  This Winter in fact.  Every night (well, almost) there is another square added to the stack!

 

And of course there has been work, and a birthday celebration, baking and some fog.  I think that pretty much sums up my life at the moment.  All photographed.  All Instagrammed.

 

If you would like to follow me on Instagram, I am Playing in the Attic.  Perhaps I'll see you there?

Enjoy your day!!

Trudy

Giddy with Excitement

I absolutely love how a change of routine can make you giddy with excitement for something that once happened so frequently it was taken for granted, and that is a day to oneself to do with exactly as one pleases!!

I went to bed last night going over all the options in my head for what today would hold.  I knew I wanted a home day, no driving in the car, and I simply was not entertaining any thoughts of being in touch with my inner Domestic Goddess.  No way!  The house, I thought, was relatively clean and tidy, the washing of clothes was pretty much up to the minute, so all those thoughts were pushed aside.  This was going to be a guilt-free day!  A day for taking it easy.  And who better to learn from than this one.

Girls up, washed, dressed, fed and out the door by 8.30 with a "Have a fabulous day.  Love you!"  And then seven whole hours stretched out ahead of me, to play with, to fill exactly how I pleased.  What to do first?  Get dressed, or lounge around in my pyjamas all day?  Be completely decadent and watch a movie, read a book, flip through magazine pages.  Crochet, knit, cut fabric, quilt, take photos, sort through family history?  I'd love it if you came over and we could have a cup of tea and do a spot of crafting together.

The bed was made because I didn't want the temptation of sneaking back there, then after doing time on the computer catching up on some lovely blog visiting, and some serious family history catching-up, crochet on the couch with my pooch and an episode or two of "Offspring" finally won out.  No guilt.

And now I feel refreshed and ready to go again.  Sometimes we just need a bit of time to do something or nothing or whatever takes our fancy.  It certainly worked wonders for this little black duck!!

Thanks for popping in.
Trudy

Barn Sale

Girl 2 and I had some time to ourselves recently and headed out the door, jumped in the car, and drove down a dirt road to go to an advertised Barn Sale.  I was full of excitement for what that little barn in the bush might hold and I wasn't disappointed.

When we pulled up outside the given address, I even found the barn to be enticing.  Just imagine what fun could be had if we had a barn like that to play and craft in.  And just have a look at the beautifully peaceful view.  *Sigh*

Inside were goodies in every direction I looked!  Some I wanted to bring home, others were fun just to look at.  A little corner of kitsch Australiana, tall and slender coffee pots, some earthy '80's ware which was all too familiar ...

... and there was one item that simply jumped out at me, wanting and needing to be taken home (with the perfect place already in mind).  Fortunately I had a little bit of pocket money with me, and we beamed, did Girl 2 and I, as we skipped out of that barn and home to put our new-old globe on top of the piano.

 

It had to be really, didn't it?  Look at that lovely teal colour!!  You know how much I love teal.  I think globes could become a serious collector's item in this house (this is the second globe we have now) as I simply adore them, for their roundness, for their colours, for their dream potential, for their learning.  And a centrepiece on a table - gorgeous!

 

Photo by Natasha www.beautifullysuddenly.blogspot.com.au, via Pinterest

And now to Reverb 12 and today's question :  What was your most significant expenditure in 2012?

 

That's an easy one!  Our piano.  We had such fun all year saving up as a family for this major purchase.  And we love it.  We all have a bit of a play, by ourselves or crazy duets.  Next year we may consider lessons, but at the moment it is all about the fun of it, and having music *of a different kind* fill the house.  And I'm finding the joy of playing far more than I ever did as a child.

 

What about you, what was your most significant expenditure?

Do you have a love of old globes too?

 

Trudy

 

A Slice of Local History

This is a photo of our town, many years ago, when it was known as Stockyard Creek and the people still remembered when gold was found.  It shows the Bank of Australasia, the Post and Telegraph Office and the local merchant's house.  This was the centre of town and this is where things happened in the 1890s.  If you could look out from the windows of the house you would see the local hotel.

Fast-forward 120 years and this is our house, moved out of the centre of town into a quiet street.  Sadly the chimneys and fireplaces were taken out and the fence has grown.  A magnificent magnolia tree that was planted at the side of the house back in the 1890s still stands in the middle of town, so as a memory to it's earlier foundations we have planted a magnolia in our little front garden.

If only she would survive another move I would pick her up and put her down again, somewhere.  Somewhere like this.  Oh, she would love it so much.  And so would I!!

 

Thought you might like a little peek at where I live.  Won't show you inside ... not until the renovations are finished anyway!  And promise I will have craftiness to share with you soon.  Not just yet, but soon.  Please wait.  Be patient : -)

 

See you Day 9 of Blogtoberfest!!

Trudy

Crafting with Paper

Earlier this week, on a blue-sky day that made you smile just looking up, I had a fun day out with friends, playing with paper.  We made flowers, punched shapes and we learnt some new paper tricks.  It was just a short drive from home to the Yanakie Hall.

 

Old Community Halls are fabulous aren't they?  They're generally filled with sporting memorabilia in the form of premiership flags or shield plaques, often a colourful, painted mural, sometimes with a stage where you can imagine the entertainment that's been given over the years and always with the Queen smiling down, gives such a sense of local community.

 

 

The idea of this day was to make a frame for a photo to sit in, but I adapted mine to be a page for a scrapbook.

 

 

 

 

Looking for the right photo to pop into this "frame" page and a few words and she's done.

 

Wishing you a fabulous weekend.

Trudy

Welcome Twenty-Twelve!

In the early evening we took fish and chips to our local beach and, while we didn't actually see the New Year in, we had fun playing in the sand and the sea.  Blessed to have this beautiful beach on our doorstep.

And while I haven't made any resolutions for this new year, I'm working on a bit of a list of wishes, hopes and dreams.

Hope you're all having a quiet and relaxing start to 2012.
Trudy

Eyes Rolled

Out driving last weekend with my two girls, on a brilliant blue-sky day, I asked them if they minded if I stopped to take a couple of photos.  Girl 1 looked up from her book, looked out each window and asked “Photograph what”?  Now there are a few things in the Australian landscape that I find very hard to drive past without admiring, appreciating and generally wishing I had my camera with me.  A rusty dilapidated shed gets me every time, rows of eclectic letterboxes, yes definitely worthy of a long look and … hay bales.  I looked at my eldest daughter and there it was, the rolling of the eyes and the look that said “my mother is loopy”. While Girl 1 went back to her book, Girl 2 and I scooted out of the car, hoping there were no snakes in the long grass, and happily we photographed the hay bales!

When we arrived home I had terrific fun playing with some of the photos on Photoshop and called Girl 1 in to look at my efforts with the hay bales.  Ah bliss, I received a “Cool”, not a “Coooooool” mind you, but definitely an appreciative nod to what her loopy mother had set out to achieve.

I hope your cool moments are being outweighed by your loopy ones in these slippery slide days to Christmas.
Trudy