The Janelle Wind Collection

On reflection...

I have spent quite a lot of time thinking and planning my final blog post for 2011. Initially it was going to be a reflection on what a tough year 2011 was and how I am glad to see the end of it, but after some quiet reflection, my blog post has taken on a new direction.

Yes, 2011 was tough, really tough and a year I hope never to repeat, however I am grateful for 2011 and all that it has given to me. Here are some of the things I am unbelievably grateful for...

* For my Etsy store and all that it has given me. It has opened new doors and opportunities that would never have existed without it. All of the many many hours behind the sewing machine have been worth it - absolutely

* For twitter - I know there are those who are not into social media however for me, I have gained a beautiful collection of supportive friends, who are always there to encourage, share and support me everyday. I am very grateful for my twitter friends and the beautiful new friendships that have been born out of this

* For Blythe - there are many that just don't 'get' Blythe dolls or their attraction, but there are many who have fallen in love with Blythe this year too. I have made the most beautiful friendships this year through Blythe dolls, through the Blythe forums and through sharing my Blythe photos on flickr too. I feel extremely blessed for the friendships that Blythe have brought into my life

* For hard work. Yep, it sounds silly but I am grateful for hard work. I have worked ridiculously long hours this year to the point where I barely slept or ate for days. Through this hard work I have learned that I am important and can't be everything to everyone. I have learnt that my family does need to come first (even more than they already do) and that I need to say no more than I ever have before. I feel OK about this. Those that care about me will accept when I say no, and support me in these new decisions I am already making. I am really looking forward to 2012 and all that it has in store for me

* For dear friends - this year I have treasured a few very special friends. These dear friends know who they are and hopefully know how much they mean to me too. I am grateful for beautiful, accepting friends who love me without judgement

* For lessons learned - if you were to ask me to define 2011 in words, I would answer instantly with Lesson Learned. 2011 has been a year of learning for me, both good and bad. I am taking all the I have learned and making the necessary changes so that 2012 will be the great year that I know it is going to be. I can't wait!!

* For you - my lovely blog readers. I am grateful to each and every one of you who visits my blog, comments, sends me encouraging and kind emails and who takes the time to share my life. I am VERY excited for all that my blog has in store for next year too. I have lots of changes and exciting things in the pipeline. I can't wait to share more with you and make this blog a really inspiring place for us all.

There are many other things I am grateful for, however these are the ones that are foremost in my mind and thinking at this time. I am very excited about 2012 and say thank you to 2011 for all that it has taught me. I know I am a better person for all that I have been through this year and welcome 2012 with open arms.

I look forward to sharing a wonderful 2012 with you too. See you next year!! xx Janelle

What I wore Wednesday, Christmas edition...

I thought it might be fun to share the outfit I wore for Christmas day, for my What I wore Wednesday post today. So, here's what I wore on Christmas day...

Dress - a gift from Emma from Ballarat Patchwork (an op shop dress originally from Target)

cardigan - Op shop

brooch - gift from Kate (one of the lovely girls from the Nowra retreat)

shoes - red sandles given to me for Christmas (sorry you will just have to imagine them)

I love my new dress and loved wearing it for Christmas day too. A HUGE thank you to Emma for spoiling me with this dress.

I hope you had something special to wear on Christmas day too xx Janelle

Our Christmas Day...

After a very big build up and MUCH anticipation, Christmas day finally arrived. To say that we were all excited is an understatement. We were ALL busting for Christmas morning to arrive. So much so that one little member of our family awoke at 2.30 am desperate to open his presents. Thankfully we convinced him a little more sleep was needed, and we were all up and excitedly opening our gifts by about 6am.

In our family, we have a little tradition where one member is chosen as Santa, pops on a Santa hat and hands one present at a time to each family member. It was my turn to be Santa this year, so I was thrilled to hand each gift to those I love most.

I just LOVED seeing the huge smiles on everyones faces as they opened gifts to reveal things that they had been wishing and hoping for. These smiles make my Mummy heart very happy.

Over the months leading up to Christmas, I had been working on some very special and very secret gifts for my two kiddies. One of the main ones for Emily was a very special customised Blythe doll. I actually sent one of my dolls away to an amazing Australian customiser, China-lilly, and had her turned into a mini me of Emily. I think Emily's face says it all - she was thrilled!!

I think Emily's new Blythe is a perfect Mini me - they match each other beautifully and the smile she brings to Emily's face makes me the happiest Mum on earth. Now that school is finished, we have our happy girl back. I am beyond happy about that too!

The kids were thrilled to get quite a few special and longed for gifts, like a sock monkey each. Made even more special because they were handmade by our friend Mandy.

Jasper was very thrilled with his gifts too. There were HUGE smiles, screams and happy tears at our home on Christmas morning. A pretty perfect start to the day I think.

We also worked with a few family members to get another special gift for Emily, because we really want to encourage her movie making. Her screams and HUGE smile told us 'we did good' when she opened a brand new video recorder in HD. Now her movies can be more the quality that she likes. I can't wait to see what she creates now too.

This year we spoiled hubby with an early Christmas present of a new lawn mower that he loves. And on Christmas day he recieved DVD's, clothes and few Daddy type gifts. He was happy too.

My kiddies spoiled me with gorgeous gifts that I totally LOVE (that I will share in another blog post) but I just had to share my very special gift. This year I was totally spoiled by receiving a beautiful red haired Kenner (original Blythe doll from 1972, the year I was born) all the way from the US. Please excuse my tired, lack of makeup face in the background. I can't put into words how thrilled I am to own this dream dolly - she is truly a very special gift and one I will treasure always.

After we finished opening our gifts at home, we headed to my parents for breakfast with my parents, one of my brothers and his family as well as my Mum's twin sister. It is my job each year to make a batch of pancakes, so I was pretty busy cooking and didn't get to take a lot of photos, however I did snap this one of my brothers pancake. It surely did look delicious!

After breakfast, it was time for more present giving!! Jasper was chosen to be Santa for this gift giving part of the day, and with his big smile in place, handed out the gifts one at a time.

Emily found these gorgeous vintage decorations at my parents home. Aren't they divine!! We might happen to be bringing them to live to our house soon - yay!

After the present time, came family photo time, something that has become a tradition that we all love. Firstly, here is my super cute Mum and Dad. This year they bought matching Christmas t-shirts. How cute do they look!!

We then headed into the family room for a family photo. It is so fun to capture our family this way. I love looking back at photos from years gone by and see how much the kids have all grown too.

Then, as per tradition, we do a silly photo. It is SO much fun to see everyone in their silly state. I love that our family is a little crazy!

Then, it was time to photograph the cousins with Granny and Grandad. LOVE these faces...

These two were never far from each other ALL day. I love that we could give Emily something that brings her so much joy.

My brother and his family then headed off to Christmas with my sister in laws family, which left 7 of us for lunch. Michael (my hubby) and I were in charge of the main meal, so we got busy with our yummy baked dinner. It was delicious.

Before heading home so that the kids could have a play with their toys and Daddy could have a rest (insert sleep), we took a few more family photos. More memories captured.

Later, we shared a dinner of leftovers with my parents and headed home, happy after a day filled with family, food and gifts. We had a wonderful day, and it ended too quickly. I am already looking forward to next year.

I hope your Christmas day was filled with wonderful memories too... xx Janelle

Our Christmas Eve...

It is almost Christmas day here in Australia. The presents are wrapped, the Santa sacks are ready for a visit from the big man in red and two bright eyed children are trying very hard to fall asleep so that tomorrow will get here even quicker.

As we wait for Christmas day to arrive, I thought I would share a glimpse into our home from this Christmas Eve, through photos. I hope wherever you are that you are enjoying some very sepcial time with those you love...

From my little family, to yours, I wish you the most wonderful and magical Christmas ever. May your day be filled with family, fun and wonderful memories too. Happy Christmas xx Janelle

Christmas swap with Sally (part two)...

I am back to share part two of my swap with Sally. You can see last year's gifts from Sally HERE too.

As per tradition, my dear friend Beth and I opened our swap presents together again this year. Beth swaps with one of Sally's friends, so they open theirs together too. It is part of the fun and tradition for sure. My parents, a few Aunty's, my cousin and kids all joined in the fun this year too. Everyone was super keen to see all that was in our packages.

Beth and I take turns in opening one gift at a time - we really want it all to last as long as possible. Here are the gorgeous goodies that Sally spoiled me with this year.

First up, there was this gorgeous Christmas tray with matching coasters. I don't own any Christmas themed plates etc, so was thrilled to receive these. We plan on using them for our special Christmas Eve dinner. Also included were some gorgeous Christmas recipe and coctail recipe cards too. I can't wait to have a good read through these as well.

Next was this super cute Owl that Sally's Aunty knitted for me. I adore handmade, so he will fit in perfectly in our little home.

Sally knows me very well after swapping gifts for 11 years - so when I opened these Christmas decorations I was beyond thrilled. These birds are perfect for me and are already proudly hanging on the Christmas tree in my kitchen. Aren't they gorgeous!

Sally never forgets Emily and Jasper either, so they had great delight opening a gift for themselves too. These cute little key rings actually light up and flash a little light. Too cute!

Last but definitely not least was this AMAZING overnight bag. I actually gasped out loud when I opened this present. Orange and aqua are two of my most favourite colours - so once again Sally has chosen perfectly. I didn't even own an overnight bag so to have one as beautiful as this totally blew me away. Poor Sally had been so sick in the lead up to our swap so to see how much effort she put into this beautiful bag makes it even more special. I just adore it and can't wait to go away overnight so that I can use it with pride.

And here is a group photo showing all of the beautiful gifts that Sally spoiled me with this year. There was also a beautiful big tin star - I plan to hang this in my home each Christmas too.

Here are Beth and I together with our main stitched gifts. Beth's swap partner Bloss made this beautiful stitchery pillow for Beth. It was based on a vintage postcard and was so very beautiful. Beth was thrilled with it too.

A HUGE thank you to Sally for spoiling me once again. I love everything that you have given me.  This really is a highlight of my year - I just love our swaps. Bring on next year... xx Janelle

Thrifty Thursday...

There hasn't been any thriftying for my over the past weeks, just lots of stitching stitching and more stitching. However, this morning I had a little Thrifty goodness arrive in my mail box. The beautiful Emma from Ballarat Patchwork sent me two totally gorgeous summer dresses that she recently found while Op shopping. They didn't quite fit Emma, so she kindly passed them on to me.

So here is my thrifting for this week - with HUGE thanks to Emma. I love them SO much and can't wait to wear them. I think I might wear the one on the left for Christmas day (if the weather is warm enough).

It is so lovely to be spoiled by friends, who just know what you love too. Thank you so much Emma. xx Janelle

Christmas swap with Sally (part one)...

My regular blog readers may remember that each Christmas I swap a box of Christmas gifts with my friend and swap partner Sally. This year marked the 11'th year of our swap and we still haven't ever met in real life. Doing this swap is a real highlight of my year and something that I look forward to. Today I thought I would show you the goodies that I sent to Sally this year. You can see some of our swaps from past years HERE (2010), HERE (2009), HERE (2008) and HERE (2007).

This year both Sally and I decided we would send a little less. Life had been very busy for us a both and Sally had been unwell. So we decided to send one main stitched item and 5 purchased items. That seemed pretty easy to do - although deciding and choosing exactly what to make and send took a little thinking. I finally decided on what I wanted to make and got myself busy, in the hope that I would make the December 1 deadline. I was a few days late but in the end everything was posted off in a big box on it's way to Sally.

Here is a little more detail on the gifts that I sent. The main stitched item was a version of my table runner that I designed and made for Etzcetera Magazine. In the January Issue coming out on Jan 1, I am teaching how to do mitred corner binding. I haven't got a lot of detailed shots of my runner but you can catch glimpses of it in some of these photos.

Next, I had a few little goodies with an Owl theme, something that I am loving this year. From a local Chemist that sells gorgeous gift items, I purchased a white owl money box (I have one in my home too), and from beautiful Mardi's etsy store, Dudley and Grace, I purchased a super cute stitched Owl.

In the back of this photo you can see a special Christmas candle. It smells SO beautiful. I just had to include one of them in Sally's gifts this year too.

During one of our phone chats this year, Sally mentioned that she loves Kate Mason's work. I popped that away in my memory bank and when it came time to do our swap, I purchased one of Kate's prints for Sally. I LOVE this one so I felt pretty sure Sally would too.

I also purchased another of my favourite items from this year - a necklace from Dusty Jo's gorgeous etsy store, 'Dusty Plum'. Jo makes the most beautiful hair tied, earrings and necklaces. I have a few of Jo's necklaces and I just had to send one to Sally too.

(photo courtesy of Dusty Jo)

I decided to pop in another stitched pair of goodies, since there wasn't a lot of hard stitching in the table runner. So I also made for Sally a thread catcher and pin cushion to use when she is stitching.

I also included a reindeer tea light candle holder, some Christmas decorations for each of her children and one special one for her as well.

WIth the busyness of Christmas upon us, Sally and I haven't had a chance to chat since opening our swap boxes but through texts I am pretty sure Sally is happy with all that I sent her.

I am thrilled beyond words with the goodies Sally made and sent to me, so pop back soon and I will share photos and details of my presents from Sally. xx Janelle

My therapy..

The past many weeks have seen me stitching day and night, working towards my etsy update (a HUGE thank you to everyone who visited my store and helped make my update such a success) and then some Christmas presents for dear friends and family. At times I have felt in need of some respite and have turned to my blythe dolls for a little R & R. It is amazing how 5 minutes spent choosing an outfit, posing them for some photos and just being quiet with them is like food for the soul. I thought you might like to see a few of the photos I have taken of my Blythes this week.

I have SO much that I want to tell you and show you - but lots of my current stitching projects are on their way to friends for Christmas or hiding away ready to go under our Christmas tree. So please pop back next week for lots of posts sharing lots of happenings and makings too.

I hope somewhere in the busyness of your day, you have something little that gives you a little respite too... xx Janelle

The Stitched Bluebird Christmas Lookbook...

For the past few weeks I have been madly stitching day and night in preparation for my last etsy update for the year. This update is all about Christmas so I have designed and made a selection of outfits, dresses and Santa hats all ready to dress your Blythe dolls for Christmas. Emily has put together a Christmas lookbook to give you a little sneak peek of the goodies I will be adding to my store soon. I hope you like what I have made...

 

(click on the letters HD on the bottom right to see a clearer version of this lookbook)

I am still madly stitching trying to finish as many outfits and dresses as possible, so I have scheduled this final update for Monday December 12 at 8pm (NSW time here in Australia). You will be able to see more detailed photos of each of these outfits HERE in my etsy store on Monday night. There are only one of some dresses and up to 5 of others, so please know that what you see is all there will be. I cannot take any custom orders (sorry) or special requests for this update as I am need of a rest. Thanks for understanding.

I want to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you for everyone who has supported me and my little etsy store this year. I have been blown away by the support you have given me and want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for purchasing my outfits for your Blythe dolls too. I hope that these little outfits will help your Blythe dolls enjoy this festive season too! xx Janelle

A little thriftyness...

Last week my lovely friend Mardi sent me a package in the mail. One of the gorgeous things in the package was a black and white tea towel, printed to look like a destination board. I have long admired the use of destination boards in decorating magazines and had secretly been wishing I could hang one in my home. As soon as I saw the tea towel, my brain was instantly ticking and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

Armed with an unpicker, a canvas, staple gun and inspired by this post on Mardi's blog, I got to work. Firstly I unpicked the hem around the edges of the tea towel, to make it large enough to stretch around the canvas. Then making sure I positioned the words to fit on the canvas properly, I stretched the tea towel to the back and stapled it in place, making myself a destination board that I just LOVE.

I knew exactly where I wanted to hang my new destination board too in my home too. You see, beautiful Mardi had already spoiled me early this year for my birthday by giving me this most amazing canvas that she had made as part of my birthday gifts. I just adore it so so much and have wanted to hang it in my hallway but needed something to go with it, so knew that this pair of canvases was exactly what I needed.

Once I got started, my new hallway display came together beautifully. I teamed these canvases with a vintage typewriter, some flowers from my garden, my vintage mirrors and a nativity scene also given to me by Mardi a few years ago. So each time I walk through my hallway I smile and think of Mardi. It really is my favourite place in my home right now. I just love it.

Keep an eye on Mardi's beautiful etsy store 'Dudley and Grace', as she is updating on Monday with a few Owls and canvases too. Everything Mardi makes is just so gorgeous and would make wonderful Christmas gifts too. Just look at this sneak peek - gorgeous!!

(photo courtesy of Mardi)

If you are looking for a quick and gorgeous gift for someone this Christmas, why not turn a tea towel into a canvas. It is easy, fun and a great decorator item too. I know I just love mine!! Thank you Mardi xx