Something New...

Here is my lastest shop item....

ForFunAndFancy.etsy.com

A bad place.

Recently my children (the big ones) have been testing me like nothing else. I imagine that the stress of moving etc isn't helping. But they are just being so rude & disrespectful towards me, and their constant fighting with each other has me feeling dislike towards them. I hate it!! They are beautiful children, they are. And I do love them pieces!! But at the moment I just dont like them. Does that make any sense? Probably not. I am just a bad mum who isn't enjoying parenthood at the moment.
I want to enjoy them.... I dont want to be grumpy at them all the time. They will grow up too soon....

:-(

:-)

let me explain...

lately often when i leave a comment, i have not been using capital letters. i do appologise for my lack of grammatical manners... usually the reason is because i have a baby in one arm drinking milk. as i do now.

i hope you don't mind....

We heart Femina xx

I recieved a parcel in the post today. I love getting parcels in the post!!

Thank you Femina.... big smoodgy kisses from Libby xoxo

Here Libby models her new beautiful pink cardigan & doll....

Isn't Femina a clever lady!! xoxo

Long Lost Things #1

When packing up the house ready to move, one often finds things that had either been forgotten about or missing in action for a really long time or that you just didn't know you had....
So far, here is what we have found... I am sure the list will grow just as the pile of boxes under my house grows.

• Unused postage stamps from when they still only cost 50c
• An undelivered handmade christmas card addressed to Mr & Mrs de Elba and their unborn baby (nat)...
• kitchen scales
• a dead rat it was under the house in amongst stuff. Gross!
• Swift Jim's mum's guest book from her 50th birthday party a few years ago (why did we have that?)
• A long lost teddy called Morris. He was found on top of the display cabinet in amongst dried flowers.
• Some of Swift Jim's nice cologne (right at the back of the bathroom cupboard)
• Our Wedding and Engagement videos. Now THAT was a giggle to watch again

There are a few items that I havn't found yet that I hope to... but's fun finding things you had forgotten about :)

And so the packing continues ....

For fun and fancy....

My wonderful friend Scurrette who is not only a talented sewer, but who is also a wizz in photoshop whipped this banner up for my Etsy shop...

You like? I LOVE IT!!! Thanks so much Bec xxoo

For Scurrette ~Fluffy Butts ~

Scurrette made Ella some extremely gorgeous BIG girl Fluffy Butts!!!!
Christmas print ones... super cute... Here she models them!

Don't mind the mess in the background LOL

Dates.

We have dates.

So this house settles on the 12th Novemeber, which is a Thursday. So we will actually have to move all our stuff out on the weekend prior to that because Swift Jim actually WORKS on Thursdays (and every other week day for that matter). So that makes moving day for us the 7th of November. Two weeks from tomorrow....!!!!!!!

The house we are buying settles, wait for it... on the 21st of DECEMBER!!!! Yeah you read that right! That's OVER a month between houses. Not just a day or two.... not even a week or two!! Almost 6 weeks!! *GROAN*....
We couldn't settle earlier than that because there are currently tennants in the house and their lease doesn't run out until the 19th of December. We can politely request that they leave earlier than that, however they can say no if they dont want to. BUT we cannot ask them that magic question before both houses go unconditional on the contracts. That happens next week. So if we ask them next week if they would mind leaving early that will only give them 1 week to find a new place and move in!
What are the chances of that happening? [in the wise words of Hip Jen] APPROXIMATELY NONE!
So it looks as though we may have to fork out $1200+ to put our stuff in storage, and house hop with all our friends and family so that we dont out stay our welcome with anyone over that 6ish week period! How much am I looking forward to that? [Again in Hip Jen's wise words]...
Approximately none........

One of these days...

I will actually WIN a giveaway!! I will... wont I? hehe

I REALLY want to win The Handmade Expo's latest giveaway! Every bloggette that leaves a comment on their giveaway post = $1 (so it is not per comment, it is per bloggette)So..the more bloggettes that comment and follow, the more money.
The money goes toward a voucher for the November or December Market!! So if you live in SE QLD, go and enter the giveaway!!

And then watch ME win it!!! Mwahahahahaha.... ;)

Every parent should watch...

I just saw this, and it is very powerful. I couldn't not share it...

Having second thoughts...

Today I sat and sewed. I enjoyed myself, but I started to wonder whether I was kidding myself with all this..... Probably because I was attempting to make some christmas decorations that well, they just ended up looking a little wierd.

(the red spotty one is the back)

Maybe I should just stick to hair clips and the like?

A lovely weekend indeed...

Saturday started out with a mad tidy up for a "just in case" open house, then Swift Jim and I dropped the big kids off at Grandma & Grandpa's house so we could spend some quality time together at the Handmade Expo. I picked up a few beauties, but the best thing was from Bubba Chenille... It was the last stall I visited, and there hanging on her rack of goodies was this little cherub...

Now I must admit when I saw it on Bubbachenille's blog I thought it was a kids skirt, and of course had Ella Bella in mind.... but no no NO, it is infact an ADULTS size skirt, and low & behold, an adults size skirt in MY size!!! WOO HOO!! Very excited about that! So I grabbed it and very proudly wore my new wardrobe addition to church this morning! It was lovely to meet Leisa, Micky and the gang from Handmade Heaven too...

Then at lunch time we headed to Ella's kindy's 30th Birthday celebration. there was a jumping castle, face painting, ice-creams, the kids sang some songs and we watched the mayor (and the kids) plant a new climbing tree. (The previously adored climbing tree died last year & had to be removed. It was very sad). It was a lovely afternoon. The kids had fun & it was really cute watching Ella sing some songs with her class mates.

[ I will insert a photo here once Swift Jim gets home and can figure out why it's not working for me ]

Then today after church we went to a friend's place and had pies for lunch. It was great to catch up with them!!

And now after all that I can relax a bit in my own house because I dont have to worry about strangers trapesing through the house as prospective buyers :) No more open houses!

It up and running...

forfunandfancy.etsy.com

I havn't had a chance to pretty it up just yet, but I will get to that a little later.... enjoy :)

I had a date with my sewing machine today...

Look!!!!

My handsome boy models for you...

The Front

The back

I am quite pleased. I have never made shorts before & I didn't even have a pattern!! My first attempt at applique too...

What do you think? Connor was rather chuffed!

I have decided...

... on an Etsy shop name that is. It comes from a Ruthism (things Dan's mum used to say when he was a kid)...

The Ruthism, was in response to the age old question "but whyyyy?" ;
"Oh, for fun and for fancy and to please old nancy!"

So hence, my etsy shop name will be... I hope you like it.

ForFunAndForFancy

I will link you all once I get it going....

~Fluffy Butts ~

Thanks Scurrette for making Libby's the CUTEST butt in town :D

You can visit her Etsy Shop "Stylish Little Critters" Here....

Yipee!!

Late yesterday afternoon, a young couple put a contract on our house!! SO pleased. They kinda remind us of us when we first bought this house... so young and excited.. there is a catch though...

They need to move in ASAP... so the contract is a 30 day contract. In 30 days we move out.... "What's the problem?" I hear you say...
Well the problem is that the settlement date on our new house isn't until 19 December, you see there are tenants living there & their lease doesn't run out until then. Now we are hoping that the tenants will agree to leave early, but they dont have to. Otherwise we will be homeless for a few weeks. *gulp* That should be fun (and expensive!)

But the house has sold so we are very pleased! Now I need to start packing.... a month isn't long!! Where to even begin!!??

Thinking about it...

Starting up my own etsy store that it.... Dunno though.

I would probably make and sell accesories. Like hairclips, brooches, softies... that sort of thing.
What do you think? Should I do it?

And what do you think of the store name Bits&Bobs&BowsbyBecky or just Bits&Bobs&bows ?
Or should I just stick with my currnet user name which is Swift Jan. I think thats a silly shop name though....

Oh what to do?

I Like a good givaway!

And I love handmade goodies, which is why I want to enter HANDMADIES comp.... Micky is one of the organisers of The Handmade Expo.... An AWESOME market with loads of handmade goodies!
The next market is in just over a week!! WooHoo!! It will be held on Saturday 17th October from 8am to 2pm at the Ipswich Turf Club, Brisbane Rd, Bundamba. $2 entry for adults and kids are free. There will be a Guiness World Record attempt, over 1500 people are needed for Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Over 100 stalls of handmade goods for sale from kids clothing and accessories to cupcakes, fudge, ceramics, shabby chic, toys, jams & chutney's, greeting cards, timber goods, gourmet fresh and much more.

I sure am looking forward to the expo this month!! I am going CHILD FREE!! :D And how fun does the world record attempt sound! So I say YOU should come along to help break the record!

Purple, purple everywhere...

The Jacaranda's are in full bloom here in Ipswich...

Every where you look there seems to be purple somewhere in the scenery...

Connor & Ella adore them. I can see why, they ARE lovely. However, they have started playing a game going to & from school. Whenever they spot a Jacaranda Tree they start singing...

"Jacaranda Tree! Jacaranda Tree! Jac-a-ran-da Tree!! J-J-J-J-J-J-J-Jacaranda Tree!!"

Now as there are probably at least 30 trees between here & school, you can imagine this song gets a little tiresome....

But wait, as we approach school & kindy it gets worse... It gets much louder & with much more excitement in their voice.... I will let you figure out why....

The street that both school & kindy are found on is actually named Jacaranda Street.... We know WHY it's named that!

Four words....

Michael Miller's Christmas Collection...


Isn't it stunning!

I have been looking for some cute fabric to make Libby's Santa sack... I think I have found what I am looking for at SewLoveFabric's Etsy Shop...
I just adore the colours & patterns, so girly!! I also think that with the left overs I will make some bunting which I can just imagine hanging on the archway between the lounge room and dining room at our new [old] house! (if this one sells of course).

Isn't it pretty!?

p.s And Scurette, dont you think it's perfect for some festive fluffy butts? hehe

And just to add to the stress...

Interest rates are going up. GAH!!!!!!!

A wee bit stressed.

I have never sold a house before. Let alone tried to sell one in a short period of time.

We have an open house both days this weekend coming, so I am hoping like CRAZY that something comes from it.
The contract on the other house is subject to the sale of this one. We wont be doing a bridgeing loan if this one doesn't sell. We cant afford to. The only way we can afford to buy that house is if this one sells. So we have an out.... here's why I am stressed though [aside from the fact that I love the other house]. The costs involved will make for a very VERY expensive dissapointment. There's the pest & building inspections, the soliciters and the advertising costs of selling this place. All of those bills will need to be payed whether or not we buy that place or sell this one.
I am hoping like crazy it doesn't come to that, otherwise it will be a rather quiet christmas here at our house!

It's a good weightloss plan though... Stress + me = hardly eats... I have lost 2kg in the past week and a bit!

You know me and my quest...

My quest for the perfect free blog template... hehe.
Let's see how long this one lasts :)

It's exhausting!

Trying to keep your house really neat & tiday ALL the time.

At the moment it needs to be in this condition all of the time, because Kellie (our real estate agent) could call at any time to show a prospective buyer through. She called yesterday while I was at the shops & I hoped like crazy no one left any undies on the floor in the bathroom! LOL Thankfully it was all good.

This morning Dan had to be a church early, so I had to get everyone ready all by myself as well as make sure the house was in display condition before I left incase Kellie called while we were out. I felt like I had worked a whole day by the time we got to church. It probably would have been easier if Libby wasn't screaming all morning!! She just loves cuddles & I couldn't give them to her....

On the plus side, anyone could drop in unexpectedly & I wouldn't at all be embarrased! For once in my married life!! LOL

Talented People...

There are so many talented people in bloggy world (and IRL)!! Let me introduce you to my friend Bec...
She has just started a blog after getting her Etsy Shop up and running.... Check her out! I am loving her new Party Pants fluffy butts!

Prayer IS powerful!

I was just reading back through some of my old posts when I came across this one.

We were SO scared for our Itty Bitty baby.

But, God really looked after her. He kept her so very safe in my tummy...

She survived the Parvo Virus and she survived the Swine Flu....

Thank you God for looking after my little girl. And thank you everyone for praying xoxo