Di Mill

Colour my day...

I am loving the new Anna Griffin fabric collection "Camilla". It has beautiful bouquets of soft roses in varying shades of pink,  with green leaves and accents of grey and aqua. Using Camilla as my inspiration, I started a photographic mood board:

 

gorgeous large border print.....

 

There is a tree out on my neighbours footpath that is covered in the most delightful flowers at the moment. The flowers change colour with age - starting out white and changing to pink as over a few days. I have no idea what type of tree it is but they reminded me of the flowers in Camilla and I couldn't help but bring some of them inside:
 

 

Inspired by the fabric range and the flowers above I started a mood board which included elegant lamps, vintage cutlery, rustic furniture, my favourite string of pearls, buttons and paint chips...

 

 

I love the clasp on my pearls - such a shame it is at the back, hidden underneath my hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at all of this inspiration,  I got hungry...why is that?? I headed to the kitchen and made cupcakes. Cupcakes on pretty china... yum!

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed by photographs inspired by Camilla fabric.

Camilla is arriving in Australian stores very soon - keep an eye out for it or ask your local store if they have ordered it. Anna Griffin fabric is distributed throughout Australia by Lloyd Curzon Textiles.

 

Take care...Di

 

 

 

Thursday Inspiration

 

 

image by Joy Hay via flickr

 

 

Take care....Di

He had a dream...

Yesterday was a bit emotional for me....my 19 year old baby left for a 2 week trip to the USA. Luke has been talking about trying to get an American Football Kicker Scholarship for a long time and yesterday he left to chase his dream. Luke will be competing at a Kicking and Punting competition in Las Vegas on the weekend. He has always been good at kicking a football and was the kicker for the First XV Rugby Team at school and somehow he heard about Australians picking up scholarships as Kickers or Punters. To live, study and play sport overseas would be a wonderful opportunity so although I was nervous about it, I have tried to encourage him all I can.

As I couldn't travel with him at this time, he is going it alone - probably what worries me the most...no wingman! I know he was nervous...but he wouldn't show it. I could tell when we got to the check in line and he asked if we were going to go up to the desk with him and looked at bit lost when I said no. I could tell when he quietly asked me if he could ring me in LA if he got lost trying to find his connecting flight. I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be fine but I just said "yes - ring me anytime you want".  He had three mates come to see him off and they filled in time looking at something funny on You tube. Then before we knew it he said goodbye to his mates, gave his sister and I a quick hug and was off through those big gates on an adventure that I hope encourages him to always chase his dreams.

I can't wait to see that face come back through the arrivals gate in 2 weeks time and hear all the stories (well those he will tell me) of his time overseas.

 

Take care...Di

Tuesday Trackdown

Five things I'm loving in Blogland this week:

 

1. Wishing I had a day bed like this in my garden with a beautiful quilt to snuggle under. If you go to this site you will find instructions on how to make one.  I can just imagine spending an hour or two like this reading a good book.

 

image source

 

 

2.  I love this DIY Makeup Brush Holder. I travel a lot and my poor brushes are just thrown into a section of my toiletry bag so this is definitely on my list of "to do's". If you pop over to Censational Girl, you will find the instructions.

 

image source

 

3.  Love Love this piece of art....vintage broaches upcycled in a beautiful way. I wish I had started collecting these years ago.

 

image source

 

4.  This is a very sweet quilt to make. If you go to Blue Elephant Stitches blog you will find a tutorial.

 

image source

 

5. I wish my linen cupboard was filled with quilts like this one: If you love the colours like I do, then pop over to Helen Phillips Blog and enjoy her beautiful work.

 

image at helen phillips via Heart Handmade

 

 

Take care....Di

Burgers at Bondi

There is nothing nicer than a good burger and whenever I'm at Bondi Beach, it's the Swiss-Grand Hotel that wins the "best burger" award.  It's not just the delicious burger that makes this treat a winner...it's the chunky chips that come with....mmmm....yum.

 

 

I hope you are eating something delicious this weekend.

 

Take care...Di

 

 

Weekending

 

I love Sydney Harbour. It's one of the most beautiful harbours in the world and last weekend I was able to stroll along the promenade while on the way to a show. The Harbour bridge is stunning and is just as captivating when you are walking under it as it is from afar. The Sydney Opera House...well what can I say....amazing.

 

 

What are you doing this weekend?

 

Take care...Di

Thursday Inspiration

Magical!

 

image via pinterest

 

 

Take care...Di

 

 

If this room had a quilt.....

 

 

image source

 

I would use the new Scarlet fabric range by Clothworks. I love poppies and this range is beautiful with it's tonings of not only black and red but also touches of sand and putty:

 

 

 

icelandic poppies art print

 

 

Scarlet Quilt designed by Pamela Mostek is a free downloadable pattern.

 

 

Take care....Di

 

 

Tuesday Trackdown

5 things I'm loving in Blogland this week:

 

1. If you pop over to Heart Handmade, you find find a tutorial for a sweet bow cushion:

 

image at Heart Handmade

 

2. I love this idea from Martha Stewart - use a business card holder to keep all your spare buttons and threads etc to fix your clothes.

 

image via martha stewart

 

3.  How cool is this??? It's a great project for a teenagers room. I love the colours!  You can read all about it at Poppytalk.

 

image via poppytalk

 

4.  Here's a cute tutorial for a child's swimsuit cover up. It's at Sew Like My Mom blog.

 

image via sew like my mom

 

5. Love Love Love this! It's a free down-loadable pattern available over at craft passion. These elephants are just adorable!

 

image via craft passion

 

 

Take care....Di

 

 

 

Meet Percy!

I really enjoy seeing how creative people can be when raising money for charity. If you pop over to Sandy's blog - The Silver Thimble - you will see Percy the Patchabull! He looks fantastic and attracted a lot of attention and he helped raise funds for Angel Flight - an organisation that co-ordinates free non-emergency flights to help country people who are struggling with poor health, financially, and distance. Sandy's shop is in Barcaldine which is in outback Queensland so Angel Flight is a charity that is essential in that area.

Isn't Percy just sooo cute???  I love his eyelashes!

 

 

The quilt below went up for Auction and raised $850! The expressions on the Bulls faces are priceless.

 

images via the silver thimble

 

You can read the story and see more photos of the day over at Sandy's Blog.

 

Take care...Di