a hospital visit...

No posts from us for a few days as I have been in hospital with my little Matilda (now 5 weeks old) who had to have an operation to the muscle at the bottom of her stomach. Going mostly on motherly intuition I took her to the GP at the end of last week, and after being sent for a scan, we ended up in the Emergency department and then off to surgery. It was horrible being unable to comfort her or take her pain away, and watching my baby being wheeled off to have a general anaesthetic made me cry. I am completely in awe of those parents who cope with seriously ill children for days, weeks and months on end.

Tilly received the best of care from the wonderful staff at the Mater Children's Hospital and is home again and doing fine. A huge thanks to all you amazing Drs, nurses and other medics who do such a fantastic job at looking after our precious little children ... it seems we never truly appreciate all the work that you do until we need it for our own families.

little paper packages...

For the last 3 weeks, Susieq has been in England, spending time with her Mum (and mine and JJ's Grandma) who is very, very ill. Most of her day is spent sitting by Grandma's bed during this difficult time for all of us. As Grandma rests, Susieq has found that keeping busy doing mondocherry work is really helping her to cope with the long days. And we, of course, are incredibly grateful for the little packages we keep receiving (beautifully wrapped in tissue and paper) of hand cut vintage paper butterflies, hearts, flowers and leaves which we can then stitch to create our artwork. We are especially busy at the moment, so Susieq's little packages are helping us enormously... thanks Mum!

a pair of pillows...

All white bed linen is so relaxing and timeless. While we are drawn to the beautiful patterned and colourful bedding you see in the shops, Susieq, JJ and I always end up purchasing all-white linen in the best thread count we can afford. If your lives are as colourful and chaotic as ours, you will relate to the feeling of relief when walking into a bedroom and seeing crisp white bedding in a serene room (see here for a photo of my all-white bed.)

However, nobody craves change more than us mondo cherry girls, and we have found the best way to alter the look of our bedrooms cheaply and quickly is to buy a pair of pillowcases from the designs we are attracted to. Adding a throw, a couple of smaller cushions, and a bunch of flowers really completes the instant make-over.

A bold, bright red paired with the white linen is both cheerful and festive.

Blue and burgundy, with velvet edges really change the look.

Pretty florals and pastels keep things pale but interesting.

The post-Christmas sales are not that far away and there are often stands full of pillowcases waiting for a home... JJ and I will see you there!

creative gift wrapping - part one...

Last year we blogged about Christmas wrapping using baking paper, and today we have pulled out something else from the same kitchen drawer ... aluminium foil. We rolled strips of foil, pleated a wider strip, and scrunched some rough circles into cup-like shapes, used a base of white wrapping paper, and some gold ribbons for contrast. We love gold and silver paired like this as it is so festive and lustrous.

working and weather...

We have been working on orders for Christmas tags this morning, although our productivity levels have been about a quarter of what they normally are in this sweltering 35 degree + heat and without air conditioning in my still-undergoing-renovation house. JJ and I were chatting about how hard it is to get excited about pulling out boxes of Christmas decorations in this weather. Christmas trimmings just seem to be so much more suited to the Northern Hemisphere, where the thought of 'cosying' up a room with added layers, extra colours and baubles and boughs is just delightful.

Etcetera etc...

For JJ's recent birthday I gave her the new Sibella Court book, "Etcetera etc" ( following the principle that your should always buy for your sister a present you would like to keep for yourself!) It is an amazingly tactile book with masses of inspiration in which Sibella shows how to create beautiful interiors using things you love. Sibella's stunning bowerbird collections (we are trying not to be jealous of all the lovely things she has discovered) are so cleverly and artfully displayed... she really is such an amazing talent. We wish we could visit her shop The Society Inc, but if like us you live too far away, here are some photos to give you an idea of Sibella's style.

mondo mentions...

We have really enjoyed reading Amanda's fantastic children's bedroom tours and are very excited to have been included in them. Be sure to pop over to Swish and Swanky to see Sienna's room (posted today) and Harvey's room (posted last week) and, with a cup of coffee in hand, scroll down through the whole series for loads of great ideas. Thanks, Amanda!

We were also thrilled to get a mention on Apartment Therapy's children's blog, Ohdeedoh last week, and even Matilda had her photo posted on the Boutique Market blog which features some super gift ideas for Christmas from amazing Brisbane talent.

tour of Melissa's house...

Every second Tuesday morning we get together with a group of Mums and their children for a couple of hours of tea drinking, cake eating and chatting. We take turns hosting this get together and this morning it was at Melissa's beautiful house. Since we love seeing photos of the inside of real people's homes, and being inspired from the way they decorate, we thought you might too!

We love these black and white blinds at the front of the house...

Beautiful original doors and a stylish neutral sofa...

Melissa had this day bed made by Get Squared and is collecting blue and white cushions to add to it as she sees them...

A natural vignette...

Stunning lamp shade that Melissa had covered in deckchair fabric from ici et la...

Melissa's son is car mad!...

Such a cute little elephant...

This house is decorated with many beautiful touches and lots of love...

a dash of blackboard paint and a piece of chalk...

We love blackboard paint, although none of us have yet been brave enough to paint a wall with it like is often seen in magazines. Having a pot sitting around begging to be used, we were excited when we came across these 90's place mats which desperately needed an update. A coat of Primer followed by 2 coats of the blackboard paint transformed them into blank slates which can be used in a number of ways on the table.

Here is the before...

And here are some quick and simple ideas we thought of. We would love to hear yours!

A sweet little message to make someone's day...

Good for teaching little ones which side to put the knife and fork on, and still quirky enough for adults...

A place to jot down the menu...

Write around the outside - no drawing skills required...

And probably the most useful in our households... something to amuse the children while waiting for their food to arrive...

leaves, moths and butterflies...

While we dislike flies in our kitchens, hate sharing a picnic with some hungry ants, and have a positive fear of cockroaches, we have always been fascinated by museum exhibits in which the many hundreds of different types of insects are laid out in ordered rows. Similarly, old fashioned books full of detailed line drawings of insects, leaves, and flowers have a huge attraction, and photos of the beautiful shapes, patterns and colours on the wings of butterflies are totally inspiring. Influenced by these things, we have been creating our new Meadow Range. Here is a selection of recent artwork - all created from damaged vintage children's books; hand cut, layered and stitched. Lots more to come (although don't hold your breath for anything cockroach related!)

sugar and spice and all things nice...

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and emails about my newest little cherry pip, Matilda. She is an absolute darling, and even after just six days it is hard to imagine what life was like without her. She is already spoilt rotten with loads and loads of cuddles (we almost have to have a roster system to keep her brothers and sisters happy) and some gorgeous presents just for her (life as the 4th girl will inevitable involve lots of hand-me-downs in the future). I am loving not being pregnant and being blessed with a very quick labour - 40 minutes and just one push for those who want the gory details - means that my recovery has been swift. I am enjoying the teensy tiny nappies, the addictive newborn smell, and all the adorable little snuffly noises that only a newborn can make. The sleep deprivation hasn't kicked in yet, so SusieQ, JJ and I even managed to fit in a bit of mondocherry this morning without me nodding off on the job! We will be at the Boutique Markets again this weekend and, all being well, I am looking forward to introducing Matilda to those who can make it.