"The Craft Group" plus...

The third challenge is here! Our theme for this year is 'Beauty' and so our third challenge is to create something inspired by this theme. Please share your beautiful creations with us through the craft group email! What does beauty mean to you?

After a lovely break over Christmas and summer,  The Craft Group is gathering again tomorrow for our Enrolment morning tea. So watch this space for new and inspiring projects!

It was my birthday! I had lunch with my childhood family. It was funny driving in the car with my Mother, Father and 2 sisters. We had a nice lunch near the beach. Then I had a lovely dinner  (Thai take-away) at home with my 'now' family. I so enjoyed torturing them with half an hour of watching home videos from the past. I only get to do that on Mothers' Day and on my birthday. This year even my daughter living overseas watched with us on Skype. They complain about home movie nights but I know they secretly love it ;) The next day I went, as usual, to The Craft Group and let me show you the card my gorgeous craft friends gave me!!!  Card? Looks like a box you might be thinking. A very pretty box... With a very pretty ribbon. One ribbon was easily removed on the back as it was stuck with double sided tape. I could remove it one handed like a movie star instead of like a crazy craft lady trying to undo it to keep every inch of ribbon for.....

It's nearly March! It's about time I said "Happy New Year"! There have been mixed emotions around here since 2016 started. My daughter is following her dream at last and has started as a teacher in the Himalayas. Yes, that is far, far away from Australia. We are proud of her and happy for her but of course we all miss her. This is her on the day that our family changed forever... (I'm not complaining. It's just a Mum thing.) My colourful adventurer.  There was another time of sadness. One of our faithful, much loved members of The Craft Group passed away. Valda has been coming for many years. She passed away sooner than expected after a recent cancer diagnosis.   As a group, we gave a card and flowers to her Craft Group friends who usually sit with her and will no doubt miss her greatly. Valda had a beautiful faith in Jesus. It was so evident, like a light shining in a dark room.  She is with Him now.  My life has changed in a few other...

We love sharing the skills hidden within our group. Rita and her husband Arthur ran a Chinese Restaurant for years.... and so who better than Rita and her daughter, Christine to show us how to make the best fried rice ever? Here are some pics and the steps involved. At the end is Chris's proper version of the recipe (as opposed to my memories of it!)  Keep looking right until the last photo which is just the cutest photo of the mother/daughter team!                                      Rita & Chris got it all together to give us a great demo! Prepare everything beforehand and have ingredients ready in little bowls... (just like in the cooking shows!) * RICE - boil on the stove the night before. 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then turn down low and put the lid on for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice up and put in the fridge overnight. Let it dry out ...

It's a busy place here at home. Our 23 year old son, the builder, started a new job after ten months of rehab from Kienbocks disease (a wrist problem). Yay. He loves being back in a routine and I love watching him having a purpose to getting up each morning! I could write a book about how wonderful it is to see your kids face God straight on in their challenging times and come through the other end realising God is real and can be trusted. But I don't have the time. Our other son, the nurse (or murse as they sometimes say) turned 21. That is a big deal around here. We had a party here at home with about 90 people I think. Fun times! I could write a book about how knowing God in a real and personal way makes such a difference to young people - as I saw in a group of 90 kids who had fun without having to get drunk or go crazy. But I don't have the time. Our 17 year old daughter turned 18 and also graduated from High School! We went out with the family for dinner to ...

We love sharing skills hidden amongst our group. Rita and her husband Arthur ran a Chinese Restaurant for years.... and so who better than her and her daughter, Christine to show us how to make the best fried rice ever? Rita and Chris's Fried Rice recipe: Prepare everything beforehand and have ready in little bowls... (just like in the cooking shows!) * RICE - boil on the stove the night before. I cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then turn down low and put the lid on for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice up and put in the fridge over night. Let it dry out while it cools down. So if you need to put it in the fridge still a bit warm, leave the lid slightly ajar. Chris uses long grain or Jasmin Rice. * SCRAMBLED EGG - Crack an egg into a bowl and with a fork really beat it up. Don't add anything. Then in a hot, oiled work, cook the egg, stirring and breaking it up as it cooks. Set aside. * VEGETABLES - finely chop up some shallots (or spring onion) set a...

Enrolment Morning 2015. No craft.  Instead...  meeting up with friends, morning tea, craft display and... PRESENTS! Lots of presents! Gorgeous Cupcakes. Made by Lorraine. Packed by Elzanne. Taste tested by me!  (Well, I had to be helpful!) It is nice to be back. I wonder what we will inspire each other with this year? Lots to see, lots to chat about, lots to share. Have a great crafting year everyone!

Tomorrow is "Enrolment Morning" at The Craft Group. It will be a lovely morning to catch up again with everyone and find out what people have been up to during the summer holidays. (And give out a little gift to those who come!) After that, our actual craft mornings start again next week on the 12th, and I will have lots of lovely new things to show you and to inspire you with!

Well, the year hasn't ended yet but 'The Craft Group' has ended for the year. We had our Annual Christmas Brunch and again it was such a lovely morning. Craft. Sharing yummy food. Singing a few carols! Hearing Lydia share about "Grace". Lovely memories of 2014. And presents! Here we are in our final craft frenzy...  The table was filled with goodies Check out Georgina's reindeer biscuits at the front and Elly's paint swatch bunting which went around the table.  Our table centre piece was also by Elly and was won by Lyn D who was happy to take home a cute instant Christmas decoration. Gifts! This year we had Elzanne as the 'Gift Creative Director'! (again- yay) We all received a 2 year planner/diary. I have the technology to keep a digital diary but I keep coming back to a real one in my bag at all times. The front of the diary has Hebrews 4:16 on it. A great reminder throughout the year. "Let us therefore come boldl...

Knitting an item takes ages. Stitch by stitch the item slowly grows. Why would you bother? We do it for love! For the love of creating and for the love of the ones who will be wearing the items! So, let's take our hats off to some fantastic ladies in The Craft Group who have made nearly 70 knitted items for charity! I don't want to mention their names (mainly Kay C, Bev G) unless I miss someone but here are their lovely warm creations. We sent them off to Mission without Borders who will send them to those in need in Eastern Europe. They suggest some patterns but are happy with other items such as these...     Thank you ladies, your hearts and hands are generous.