Simplify

I'm a bit late to the party aren't I? Most bloggers are back in the swing of things already. I hope you had a wonderful break and happy new year! Hello twenty twelve... for me the year of living with less.

Since selling our house in early December I've been thinking a lot about simplifying my life by streamlining my belongings. Going from a 3 bedroom house to a (probably small) 2 bedroom apartment will require some downsizing anyway. But more than that I want to get rid of "stuff". A big thing for me is also making a fresh start for Roxy and I, and I want to do that without feeling weighed down by our current furniture.

After much consideration I've decided to sell my two beloved stripy chairs. I adore them, but I need to let go and move on. Would you like to buy them? Sorry, the chairs have been snapped up already! They are Art Deco 1930's/40's chairs which I had professionally restored. The timber has been beautifully restored and looks amazing, and the fabric is gorgeous French cotton canvas from ici et la. If you are interested please email me with STRIPY CHAIRS in the subject line. We are in Lane Cove, Sydney and the chairs would have to be collected by 28th January.

photos by Lucy Feagins, The Design Files

Also up for grabs is a lovely and practical Art Deco sideboard. I'm not sure what the timber is, but it's possibly maple? It really is a great example of deco furniture in original condition, with fantastic original deco handles. There is a mirror-backed display section, and lots of storage. Interested? Sorry, it's sold too. Email me with SIDEBOARD in the subject line. As with the chairs it would have to be collected by 28th January.

I'm hoping to be organised enough to have an online garage sale soon to sell out some of my products at substantially reduced prices, as well as Gocco supplies, design and craft books, and other bits and pieces. There'll probably also be small furniture pieces like mid century stools, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I'm sorting, packing and simplifying.
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See you in January!

I am so looking forward to starting a new year... 2012 is going to be grand! Stay safe, enjoy your holidays and I'll see you in early January.

love, Lisa
x

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New Roxy Longsocks Faces

I've just added some new Roxy Longsocks face panels to my shop. I named Roxy Longsocks after my Roxy, so it seems fitting that one of the faces looks like her.

There doesn't seem to be much choice around if you're looking for a doll with an Asian face, so at least now you have the option to make one... or some. The other new face has green eyes, so now you can choose to make your own Roxy Longsocks with dark Asian eyes, blue eyes, green eyes, or brown eyes.

The Pattern Kits, and individual faces are all available in my shop now. Some crafting for the holidays perhaps?
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Roxy's quilt

I managed to put together another block for Roxy's quilt on the weekend. At this rate I'll have it finished by 2020.

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Our Gingerbread House

Roxy has been obsessed with two things this Christmas: singing Deck the Halls over and over again, and making a gingerbread house.

There was much excitement and singing as we looked for a recipe, drew the templates, planned the decoration and shopped for the ingredients.

So yesterday, while we sang Deck the Halls we baked the gingerbread, and this morning - while we sang Deck the Halls - we put it together and decorated it. For a first ever attempt it turned out OK. Roxy was in charge of deciding how we decorated it (I had to let go and breath deeply and let her do it!) and I was in charge of applying the icing "glue" so she could attach the sweets.

I think she did a pretty excellent job. I love the little gate! All that is left to do is sift icing sugar snow over the top.

Half way through we had a bit of an engineering disaster when half of one side of the roof fell off! (you can see in the photos that the roof is shorter on the left hand side) It seems like it was too laden with freckle shingles and icing glue. So we now have a house with eaves on one side but not on the other.

Things I have learnt:
- you can never have too much icing or too many sweets (according to Roxy)
- make the roof pieces smaller next time
- buy a CD of Christmas songs. variation is good.
- for the base, cover a chopping board with foil instead of using cardboard which isn't so sturdy and can cause the equivalent of an earthquake when you try to move it.

We've decided to make it a new tradition and make a gingerbread house each year. Do you make them? I have a question... Christmas day is still nearly a week away, how do you store it? I've wrapped ours up in cellophane, but I'm unsure whether it's going to stay fresh. Have we made it too early? Should we have a pre-Christmas gingerbread tea party instead of waiting until "the day'?

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la la la la la...


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