Saturday, May 10, 2014

A short Aussie Holiday...

Onward to Sydney!  It was a bit overcast when I landed, but the rest of the week was beautiful and crisp, just like fall should be!
Before heading out to the country, we stopped in at a cute little shop in Epping called, Note To Self.  I managed to find a few vintage things I couldn't live without.



My friend Sally lives in the Southern Highlands.  Polar opposite of the city...think rolling green hills, lots of cows and horses, and trees...lots of trees. 
See the place on the map called Sutton Forest?  Nicole Kidman has a country house there.  Of course you can only see the roof line and chimneys from the road.


 This was taken at the end of her street.  Talk about picturesque!
In town, there were piles of leaves on the sidewalk.   Coming from CA, we don't see many colored leaves like this so it's always captivating (of course, I do not have the job of raking them up, so they just look beautiful to me).


One day, five of us took the trip to the coastal town of Berry.  To get there, you have to drive over the mountain and through Kangaroo Valley.  One of my favorite drives to take.  I didn't get a picture of the valley because most times the trees were too thick (and there are no pull outs on this windy road) but if you ever have a chance to take it, it is beautiful.
Once in Berry, we stopped at some darling boutiques.





Lunch was fish and chips at yet another cute shop, just off the main drag. 
We shopped some more and ended the day with coffee (or hot chocolate depending on your preference).
Thanks to these girls (Lorraine, Donna, Sally and Ree) for the friendship over the years.  It is always nice to spend time with you, laughing till our sides hurt and we can barely breathe.  I have purposely not posted the pictures of us acting ridiculous with the fake candy teeth (seriously who's idea was that?), leaving a restaurant because it was too hot for middle age women, or two certain people waltzing in a clothing store with hip music.  
Of course I faced my biggest challenge (totally self-imposed) trying to use the Aussie slang term "fair dinkum" correctly in a sentence (meaning true or genuine).  Not sure I ever got it right, but boy did we ever laugh about it.  Oh, and it now has it's own hash tag (#fairdunkum).   
Good Times girls, good times....


(insert segue here)

Creative Play
I taught a class at the local scrapbook shop in Moss Vale on Saturday.  The last hour of the class time was spent as creative play time, where each student created layered tags with Distress Stain, Ink, Layering Stencils, Stamper Anonymous stamps and the new Spritzer.  I captured a few shots of some of the tags created that day.  Enjoy!
layering stencils and stamps
monoprinting...
distress stain techniques...
learning to fade ink colors across the stencil

I had to include this picture of my friend Tammy who takes "distressing" seriously.  You might notice she has her Tonic Paper Distress tool on a wire clipped to her jacket!
Thanks everyone for coming to class and for Pam for hosting the day.  I always feel at home in Moss Vale!

I will be back soon with our regular programming before leaving on another plane destined for Quilt Market (Tim's second release of Eclectic Elements fabric will be released at the show).  Looking forward to hanging out with a couple of my favorite guys.
carry on,
paula


21 comments:

  1. Love your pics of Berry - I remember visiting there a number of years ago - such a pretty place

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    1. Glennis, Berry is a darling little town with the cutest shops. In the Southern Highlands, Bowral is my other favorite place to shop. The fall is such a nice time to visit too...the colored leaves were beautiful.

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  2. Ha ha loved the restaurant comment...know how that feels!

    Donna.x

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  3. Looks as if you had a totally fab time and makes me feel very homesick for Oz (my son and family live there). Loving those tags!! Lucky ladies!

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  4. Looks like lots of fun, some beautiful art and the quilt WOW!! awesome work... I am so jealous wish that one was gracing my bed :)

    Have a safe trip home!

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  5. I just love the idea of clipping the distresser to your jacket -- I might have to steal that idea, I am forever misplacing mine...

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  6. Oh that countryside looks nice. And the shopping - you always find the cutest shops filled with vintage goodness. Oh and I like the idea of having creative play as part of a class. Great tags, thanks for sharing.

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    1. thanks Sharon! I do like finding out of the way places - just need more that are close to home I think!
      paula

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  7. Lovely!!! Thank you so much for this post. Happy travels!

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  8. There's nothing more therapeutic than letting your hair down with some fun & crazy gals! Those tags are so pretty. Love the soft distress colors and I have ordered that lovely damask stamp. Can't wait for it's arrival. Safe travels and thanks so much for sharing your fab journey.

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    1. thanks Laura! You are going to LOVE that distress stamp. I have used it so much since it's release a few months back. Great choice!
      paula

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  9. NICE POST!!!
    Thanks for sharing it ALL + )
    Happy Mother's Day to all!

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  10. So the birds nest on top of the deer head made me guffaw at 6 AM! Looks like you had a fabulous trip. Happy Mother's Day to you, Paula.

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  11. Happy Mother's Day! Love the pictures!

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  12. Fabulous, Paula! Another FUN time had by all! I LOVED that nest on top of the deer's head...Made me look at the moose mount on my wall and go...Hmmmmm ;) You know how that old inspiration works ;) Thanks for the wonderful pictures from down-unda. Looking forward to more pics from the Quilt Show!! Happy Mom's Day to you! XOXO-Shari

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    1. thanks Shari, I will try and get some good pictures at Quilt Market. I've never been to Pittsburgh except to the airport so it might be an mini adventure!
      paula

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  13. Looks like a great trip - all those boutiques full of "necessary" goodies! - and the tags for the class look beautiful. Thanks for sharing all the fun!
    Alison x

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  14. Love this post, what a weekend!! Berry was a blast - fair dinkum! The candy teeth were Sally's idea, the person who was too hot in the cafe was Sally, the person who made me dance in the shop was Sally....mmmmm see where this is going, however she had the best hashtags #sandbags #listencarefullygirls. I loved spending the day with you girls and laughed until I couldn't breathe, Best girly day ever. Can't wait to catch up again, #keepingitreal #laughinguntilithurts #lolololololololololol xxx

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    1. Oh, that Sally! Fair dinkum, what a great day!
      love you Ree...see you in CA in just a few short weeks!

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  15. LOVE all of the beautiful tags! Such nice colors and awesome layers of goodness. :) So glad you seem to have a great gal-time. Good friends, great memories! Loved to see the yummies in the shops. I saw lots of things I "needed." Hee! :)

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  16. I live vicariously through your journeys. They look like so much FUN! And the shops you find are to die for! Thanks for sharing Paula.

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