Tom Mouse - A Mouse Tale Adventure

Hi there I am Tom Mouse! You met my mum the last time you dropped by - Mrs Christmas Mouse.
Mum generally likes me to stay pretty clean especially with the up and coming Christmas events that are happening around. Usually I get assigned jobs like carrying around bags of lollies for the kiddies and ornamentals stars as gifts. But today.. I am free to do as I please.. and I feel like an adventure.

A little bit of swinging, great fun hanging from this bell, the wind blowing in my hair...really makes my ears flap! I feel a little like that elephant in the circus, you know the one..Dumbo!
Mmmm what to do next.. I know I'll go climb the tree and have a look from the top!
Hope mum doesn't see me, she'll tell me off for getting dirty.

I must say it is hard work climbing these branches and not easy when you have to carry a star as well.
My ruffled collar is also making me quite hot - Hot under the collar..hah!

 Keep going. Eventually I will get there..almost..almost , yes I can see it...now for a giant leap and I can make it into the neighbor's tree.



Phew ! Just made it.
Almost nosed dived out of the tree! That wouldn't have been the prettiest sight.
Can't say my positioning is the prettiest sight either
Better straighten up and get some secure footing

MMM it smells good and looks beautiful from here.

If I leap from here I might make the letter box. Yes I think I can make it, it's not to far and I am a great jumper..The best in my class you know! You couldn't tell by looking at my spindly legs especially when mum makes me wear these boots. Oh well here goes.. Wish me luck.
1...2...3.. Jump!

Yeeeha! I am the best . I am the king of the world!

A quick jimmy up an then I can rest and wait for the mailman to come

Wonder how long he is going to be.
My tummy is rumbling from all this exercise.
Mum says I should go on a diet or do more exercise .. She says I am a little round in the middle. I just tell her I am preparing for my next growth spurt. She replies "so long as it is not outwards.

I can hear something, something rustling in the bushes. I wonder what is ?

Hey mum , what are you doing here?
Oh thought I'd just join you and wait for the mailman... an also let you know I've baked some cookies.

Yipee!

I'm off. I'm not waiting for the mailman, not when there are cookies to be had.

See you later, the last one down is a rotten egg! BYE

Hello, How Are You? - Christmas Ornament, Santa Mouse

Hello! How are you?

That is what this cute little rascally fella seems to be saying.

 My first Christmas ornament is almost complete, all he needs is a tail and whiskers.
This little guy is completely hand sewn and crafted for a very special person in the Christmas Ornament Swap found here.

Now if anybody has noticed that I've visited their web site just let me inform you that I have visited everybody on Christina's list for the ornament swap and some of the sites even twice. So this guy could be for any one of you. I've started a second mouse but decided to try to make a girl in a sparkly dress, sounds nice but at the moment isn't looking so great. Needs a lot of work.

So you can see I have only utilized one of the ornamental/ souvenir teaspoons so far. I have plenty more to play with.

Santa mouse is a little scruffy looking (almost homeless) but cute none the less and maybe a little Irish!

His limbs are fully mobile so he can be positioned in anyway and is not attached to the spoon other than bending his wired limbs

The original mouse didn't look quite so scruffy and can be found in Better homes and Gardens: Holiday Crafts 2010  by Pamela Gracia. I've always wanted to make him but I did make a few alterations

Can't wait to see what everybody comes up with

News Years Resolution

Happy New Year to all and I trust that the new year commenced smoothly. I really enjoyed New Years Eve with friends on Brighton Beach, South Australia.  It was as expected a very hot finish to the year and an even hotter start at 40 degrees Celsius. The weather encouraged us all to swim and sloth around in shorts and T-shirt, not very festive attire but practical.

Each year our family heads to the beach to watch the fire works and join with friends at their house near by to hail an end to the year. We bring our large shovel and create a giant sandcastle which we adorn with tea light candles. This sand mound becomes a mecca for beach goers with sparklers and no light to ignite their sparklers. Its great fun sparklers and glow sticks everywhere.

Of course some quantity of champagne is consumed but I must say I was very aware this year that I would be working new Years Day and didn't go overboard.

Ben my adorable middle child was not particularly happy to be on the beach with mum and sister eating fish and chips, grumbling that we were there way to early and  spent considerable time hiding under a beach towel playing with my phone. The beach towel was so that he could see the face of the phone without the glare.
I warned him not to play with the settings of the phone , which of course he did and also informed him that if my alarm went off at some ungodly hour I would be kicking him awake. Well he said he cancelled the alarm but it went off a 4 am, so I in turn roused him in the manner suggested and shook his mattress until he too was awake. The phone didn't just go off once, 15  minutes later, just after settling back down, the retched thing resounded again. Sadly I managed to wake most of the household as we had all the doors open to cool the house with the air conditioning. A interesting start to the year.

Since the commencement of the year I have pondered upon what I might hope to achieve. I always have an agenda, the list of things that I think I'd like to do and stuff that I should do. My life is delineated between professional planning, family activities and the wants and desires of completing art and crafty projects that I am most desirous to commence or finish but never seem to find enough time to do it all in. I know one way I can immediately gain time is by not playing so many games on Facebook, my what a time waster they are.
I will endeavour to publish on the blog fortnightly but that will be dependant on the ability to find something to write about and how creative I might have been.

I've taken photos of handmade decorations and thought I would try to write up a few patterns for them and post them so that you'll have plenty of time in the coming year to produce your own. The first pattern will be for a beaded star. Its a little time consuming when you want to make them in multiples. I made at least 20 so that I could hang them on swags.

 I was given some wooden cotton reels and made some beaded men with my children to hang on the tree

Beaded angels nice hanging decorations or can be gifted as a broach

The angel swag is a pattern of Annie Downes a talented Australian quilter but the strawberries are my embellishment. (There wings are a little tired as the swag was made at least four years ago)

Decoupage hanging balls are cheap and personal way of decorating your tree, just  find a paper you love, a selection of paints and foam balls and ribbon and away you go.

 I added this snow man which I made several years ago but cant remember where I got the pattern.

As they say better late than never but I did take these photos as I was taking down decorations.