Homemade Jewellery

Ever find it difficult to find jewellery that matches your special dress or earrings that match the colour of your blouse exactly? Well, I have that probelm no more because I have discovered the wonders of homemade jewellery!!

You don't need very much to craft your own beautiful pieces. I picked up all my essentials at a local store called 'vintage jewels.' I needed head pins (straight pins with a small flat end), ear wires (where the bead hangs from), beads, a wire cutter and a pliers.

First I chose the beads for my earrings. These ranged from expensive, top-quality gems to cheaper beautiful beads. I placed the beads onto the head pin. I continued adding beads until the desired earring length. I cut the wire after I had reached the desired style and length. Then I cut off the extra wire, leaving enough to curl around a couple of times. I used the pliers to twist the straight wire into a small circle. And voila!!

Now to find an excuse to wear them. Anyone for dinner?!

Homeschooling Fun!

I love homeschooling my children! Every day they learn things that they would never have been taught in a state school. Take some highlights from this week for example. On Sunday my husbands brother, who is a Pastor and lives about an hour from our house, came to stay with us and we had a wonderful day together reading from the bible and discussing ideas such as the importance of valuing yourself before you can value and respect others. On Monday we read from Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice and had a group discussion on the themes in the book. On Tuesday, we devised our own recipe for brown bread, packed with walnuts, bran, and almonds. And finally today, my husband took part in the learning process. A colleague at his work, whose family come from Russia, told him about a diamond mine outside the Russian town of Mirna. What he said sounded incredible, so we researched it more on the internet with our children. I though I'd share the unbelievable facts about this place with all of you too!

The Mirna diamond mine is located in northeastern Russia. The Mirna Diamond Mine is the deepest open pit diamond mine and one of the deepest open pit mines in the world at nearly 2000 feet. It takes approximately 2 hours for an ore truck to drive from the bottom of the mine to the upper rim.

Difficult to get your head around the scale of this thing, isn't it?! I love how homeschooling teaches me, as well as my children, lots of new and exciting things!

Sunday Giggle!

Thank you to Polly for sending this bit of humour on to me today. I hope you are all having a lovely weekend and that you laugh at this as much as I did!

The Two Choices in Life:

Life essentially boils down to two choices.

1. Get a dog....

2. Have children....

Haha! Oh how I have had so many experiences that come very close to what is pictured in these photographs!

Valentine's Day

I know Valentines Day is often disregarded as an overly commercialised holiday, but if you really look at the hidden message amongst all the Hallmark cards and big fluffy toys, it can be something really special. There is alot to be said for being reminded to tell those you love exactly how you feel about them!

Our local Feminine Womanhood society holds a valentines tea party every year and this year it was my turn to host it. I spent the whole day before Valentines Day preparing for the party but I think my work paid off!

First, I covered the back of the chairs with vintage cloth, then light pink tulle, and tied a beautiful handmade name tag on each one. With my children, we cut out lots of paper hearts and sprinkled them over the table.

These are the chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing that I made and served on this vintage tray.

And above are similar cupcakes but without the chocolate. Also in the picture, you can see that I provided pink lemonade for those who do not drink tea. I tried to stick as much as possible to a pink theme!

These are cookies my good friend, Charlene, made. She made 85, every one being different. You can see, surrounding them, I put beautiful tea tins. And in the tea pots I put hot water, giving my guest a variety of teas to choose from. Also in this picture you can see how I placed an antique hat on every teacup, so when my guests arrived, they could mix and match their hats with their outfits.

It was really a wonderful afternoon with tea, cakes and reading. And I am so lucky to have four little helpers who were so good for Mama when it came to tidying up after everyone had left!