Mammy’s Weekly Blog

Often, I am asked about ‘what is the difference between and within country décor and style’? So, this week I thought I would touch on the subject.

In the next blog, I will look at different eras of style, such as Jacobean, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, so be prepared for a history lesson LOL! I personally find it wonderfully fascinating and confess, I drawl over some of the beautiful pieces, ‘Oh just one powerball...’ as they say - well at least dreams are free!

Primitives: The dictionary defines primitive “as among the first of something, potentially simple and crude, or made by an unschooled artist”. Primitives are items of yester-year.  Unless you are privileged to own an original piece, replicated pieces are usually stained – either with coffee or tea to accentuate that old world antique look.  With dolls and linen, stitching maybe rough or imperfect and the edges possibly left raw. Additional extras, like buttons, patches can be, or are added and faces can either be hand-stitched or painted on.   The pieces look like something Great-Grandma would have owned and made or something crafted out of wood by Great Grandpa.
 (Bucket o Bunnys - Mammy's Choice)                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Extreme Primitives: Are the same as Primitives, however, appear damaged or in need of repair.  An eye or stitch maybe missing or be haywire. There could be a rip or a hole somewhere.  Extreme primitives are usually stained darker than Primitives, even painted black.  The faces are usually always stitched.  These pieces look like they belonged to Great-Grandmas, grandmother.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Whimsical: does not always have to be primitive.  They are stained lighter, can be colourful or left natural. Whimsical is funky or flowery, even vintage.  Faces are usually painted on and consist of odd shapes. Items can be fanciful, even mythical.  

(whimiscal found on Pinterest)    

                                                                                          

Grubby: as it says – grubby! Grubby does not have to be old world though commonly it is.  The appearance is to look dirty or well used, even misused. If it were a ragdoll I could imagine some spoilt bad-tempered child throwing poor Miss Molly into the mud or dragging her behind their bike. Then again, it maybe that special loved security piece that a child will not give up for cleaning and takes everywhere with them.  (grubby jar found on Pinterest)

      

Shabby Chic: consists of soft colours, whites, creams, florals, cottage style, feminine, romantic, with a hint of French.  Items are usually stressed or show signs of wear and tear, almost looking antique. Faux painting is often used to achieve this look.             (Shabby Chic Bedroom – photo Pinterest)

Industrial: Industrial style refers to an aesthetic trend in interior design.  Industrial desires to give the effect of being in an old factory or deserted warehouse.  The outcome is of being cold yet warm and comforting.  I find it an interesting style, a feel of yesteryear, almost that of the depression and the post-war years.  It  conjures a sense of making comfort with what was around and available. A statement of history, dignity, masculinity and a sense of victory.

Rustic:  usually insinuates country, rural.  Rustic does not necessarily mean aged but the condition of.  It is simple, unsophisticated, using natural materials or items being left unenhanced and untouched. 

(Rustic – amazon.com)

                                                                                          

Cottage:  soft florals, gingham, romantic, cosy, wooden, baskets, warm, they are just a few things that come to mind.  The cottage style should envelop you the moment you lay eyes on it.  It embraces imperfections and personality.  Cottage can be frilly, antique, vintage, old mixed with new.  Its casual air offers a sense of comfort, personal identity and security.  Cottage is complex to describe as it is a combination of personal taste all mixed together.     (photo by hansolomon.com)

                                        

I would say “Cottage” would best describe me.  I love my antique furniture, family heirlooms, collection of primitive decor, rustic bits and pieces, antique china, gingham, cane baskets and the odd French piece here and there.  Though truly, I cannot decide which style I really love the most.  Our bedrooms are more cottage, come Shabby Chic.  The lounge room and sitting areas are classical, having the most antiques, and the kitchen/wet areas primitive. Within each area I have selected pieces of each style to help tie it in and all together -  it works for me.

Retro:  usually 20-40 years old – in other words it is out-dated, not cool anymore, out of style and currently highly fashionable.  For many of us, it is something we grew up with.  For others, something sentimental.  In honesty, it was gross, but wish we had kept some pieces as they are worth a small fortune now. Retro was bold for its time.  (Retro – photo Diykidshouses.com)

To cap off - the difference between Antique and Vintage.  Antique is genuinely old and usually dates around a hundred years, however, Australia being a newer (western civilised) country we often declare antique as being 50+ years.  Vintage is between 30 – 50 years, something your grandparents or even parents would have had or used.

I hope this successfully answers any queries you have.  Please feel free to drop me a line if you have any more questions. 

Enjoy and all country blessing till next time.

Vicki x

*Autumn is well and truly here*

It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of autumn already - well in the southern hemisphere.  I know I probably have said it before, but autumn would have to be one of my favourite seasons.

Here in the west our climate is similar to, and is, classified as being Mediterranean, so our seasons are not overtly distinctive compared to the northern hemisphere and even the Eastern States for that matter.  Our summers can be very hot, even long, our winters mild and autumn and spring are much on par.  The one bonus of living down in the south-west (inland) and being the colder part of the state, we have a lot of deciduous trees, orchards and pumpkin fields, it gives us a more defining and beautiful sense of autumn.  With those gorgeous hues of browns, oranges and reds and then mix it with an early morning crisp fog, do I need to say more.....  yep, it doesn’t get much better!  Though I have to confess as age is quickly catching up, the dear old bones, especially the knees are not so keen on the crispy mornings anymore.

Talking of age, I have to say as I am getting older, as I am sure we all are, you certainly do look at making life much simpler.  Having recently moved – (sadly the apple orchard, with its sweet white cottage is now stored in the book of memories, and I must confess I still miss it a wee bit, but alas, it was a lot of work) I have culled like never before, though my husband still thinks there is way too much ‘stuff’.  I am sure you can all picture it and hear his words “why put it in storage boxes? If you are not going to use it now, why keep it? I am not going to move it again!” mmmhhmmm….'yes dear' I think to myself…, gotta love those men-folk of ours.  I should not complain he is a gem and I am truly blessed.

So, on that note, I suppose I had better get back to unpacking some more boxes.  I had such great plans of getting out some pumpkin patterns and recipes to get done, oh well, seems to be life of late, not getting what I want done.  Instead, here are some pics that you might enjoy and  in some way hopefully envelop you in the magic of autumn and a quick reminder of what we have made over the years in pumpkins.  

Just look at the size of the nuggety pumpkin Miss Maggie is sitting on above!  They tell me it is edible and I am not sure what it is called, (think it has a French name) but if your down the south-west, then you can get them at ‘Newys Veggie Patch’ in Kirup.

Photo courtesy of Newy's Veggie Patch - Kirup

Till next time, all of Country Blessings to you.

It’s Christmas Time!

Well it’s the Christmas  countdown!  I do love this time of the year, even though it does come with a certain amount of stresses, which to be honest we do allow to happen in our lives – do we not?

On the first of December we start our Christmas cooking.  It is such a special time with my daughters and we thoroughly enjoy it, though I am not sure if the kitchen feels the same way.  My eldest Georgina is the sweets queen in the family and alas… my messiest!  How one can get icing sugar up on window ledges, butter splattered up the walls is beyond my comprehension, plus somehow, the whole kitchen also gets a dusting of flour, like some holy Passover.  We should not complain, the end results are wonderful, but the journey there… sometimes I just have to go for a nanna-nap to avoid making a comment and deflating her enthusiasm

In November, we pull out all our Christmas cooking books  and chose our Christmas menu plus all the goodies we want to have over the Christmas period, we also incorporate some of our Christmas favourites.  Usually we always have family and friends that come and stay, it’s wonderful – and of course there is always one cheeky member of the family who subtly hint at there being available their Christmas favourite.

With all this hustle and bustle, you could imagine my grand designs of having the new Mammy’s website up and running by Christmas, well… however, every spare minute that I have, I have been loading up stock as well as trying to get a whole array of unfinished items completed.  Alas, I have had to realistically reassess about  the Grand-Opening of the rejuvenated  Mammy’s Choice and have decided it will be the 1st of January we will open and offer  a 15% discount opening sale that I will run for the month of January.  As I am typing this, it just occurred to me that it was 15 years ago on the 1st of January that we opened our first Mammy’s Choice shop in Chidlow – oh my goodness.  Well then, it be applicable that we offer a 15% discount ( I was going to be stingy and just do 10% LOL)! oh oh oh and another revelation, it will be 2015!… what are the chances 15, 15, 15 – hope that is a good sign!

What I must do here is thank a very dear and special friend, one that I call my soul-sister for helping me find my mojo and encouraging me to bring Mammy’s back to life – Peta Reeve!  Peta will be also making some wonderful items for Mammy’s along with her blessed partner Andy.  Peta  also has a wonderful array of goodies that she is putting together to sell and has  recently set herself up to make these available to you.  You will be able to find Peta on her Facebook page called “Farmhouse Mercantile” so please do check it out and I am so excited as to what she will be making. 

I met Peta just over ten years ago when she walked into our Guildford shop, armed with an amazing  and beautifully made array of goodies to be put on consignment.  God always amazes me with the wonderful people he places in our lives and as always, at the right time!  I am so excited to be working alongside Peta and Andy.  Not only have I been encouraged to go back to (besides my family) the love of my life – Mammy’s – but also Georgina has been doing her loved hobby – card making – and has started creating a whole range of ‘rustic vintage’ cards under the name of GG Designs. Victoria also has been developing some vintage decor ideas and loves stamping.  It is great to have my girls on board, though our work area is small and well… lets be frank – why would my darling Georgina be any different in the craft room than the kitchen…. ho hum!!  We love her dearly and I will miss her so much when she heads off to Uni in February.  She assures me she will be home as much as possible mmm…. and in her down time working on her cards.

There are another two people quickly I would like to thank – Bev from ‘BT Creations’ – check out her Facebook page as well, who has always encouraged me to find my way back and Jackie Proctor who faithfully comments on this blog and is always so encouraging.  I so much miss Jackie’s beautiful prim creations!  Maybe I could send some of my mojo Jackie's way and one day we will see her beautiful items back on the web.  Thank you girls for always being there in the background.

Well, this post is getting a bit long so I had better sign off.  I will keep you posted on my progress. 

Till next time – ALL OUR COUNTRY BLESSINGS TO YOU!!!

It Garden Show time!

Well it is that time of the year for all the ‘Garden Open’ shows and down here in the south-west of Western Australia we have a wonderful array to wander through.  I enjoy going to them, they certainly are inspiring. With some you just don't want to leave - the ambiance is just magical, though I confess, I sometimes do get a little envious.  SO,  a big thank you to all those wonderful gardeners who open their gardens up to the public to meander around and thoroughly enjoy.  On that note, I am very blessed to have been asked to display some of my wares at one of the largest gardens here in the south-west. (not sure if I will be at my stall very often LOL)!

Two weeks ago I attended the Donnybrook Market for the very first time.  It has been a lot of years since I have done a market,  you certainly forget just how much fun they can be.  As always, you meet a lovely bunch of people and enjoy great comradeship amongst the other stall holders.  Of course, as it be, my first time in and the weather was just frightful!  It took all our efforts not get blown away, and believe me it would take a good deal of wind to move me, it sure was a wild and windy day.

Now to ask you all something, I need to desperately get a new web site as the company that previously hosted my site is no longer in business or operational.  There is just so much out there, so if anyone has any suggestions, they would be very much appreciated.

Have just spent a wonderful week with a very dear friend, who certainly has  encouraged my mojo to get back on track and I am so excited with some great new ideas.  As you probably know by now, I have let things slide with Mammy’s a little – well okay a lot! and I am slowly building her back up.  So over the next few months I will be clearing out some old stock – so watch for clearance specials and the new website hopefully.  I will also regularly update this blog and Mammy’s Facebook page  and start sending out emails on an updated data base. 

Well with all that said and on that note, I have some birdhouses that need to be finished so I will say ‘till next time’.

Enjoy the rest of your week and be blessed.  

The EZShoppe Craft Show is on!

Well the sunshine was out today – hip hip hooray!! but the wind certainly had a bite to it.  After years of procrastinating we made a start on the veggie patch – yes miracles happen!  We starting building the patch about three years ago and used old railway sleepers stacked three high to build it up.  One has to face the facts that one cannot bend for prolong periods anymore.  We have been faithfully adding sand, mulch and BJ Bill (my daughters horse) manure to the patch.  It has, I must admit harvested a wonderful crop of oats, which BJ munched on today to his hearts delight.  Yep, you have got it as my youngest daughter so delicately put it “in one end and out the other and we start all over again”.  Well I suppose one way to look at is he, keeps reproducing his own feed.  mmm…. such a gross thought!

The garden beds are all weeded, the blessed husband has already fallen asleep on the couch and my knees are letting me know exactly how old I am! Goes to show how long we have been able to get outside and do some work. Though it be October the nights here in Donnybrook are still cold and the wood pile is depleted. It’s not worth getting another load in this side of next winter – so here we are huddled around the oil heater and in my mind is the thought of the electric meter spinning out of control.  I am not sure what the cost of electricity is around the rest of the country, but it is at a ridiculous rate here!  Oh well, no point complaining, you either freeze or put up.

On that note, just to let you know, for the first time this year I have entered into EZShoppes on-line fair of which I have a small both.  Would love for you to drop by and  below is the link.  There are a great number of little shoppes there, so enjoy and check them all out.  The fair starts tomorrow the 8th of October  and finishes on the 22nd October.

Enjoy, until next time, All of Country Blessings to you and yours. x

http://www.ezcraftshow.com/shoppe/?sid=MammysChoice 
http://www.EZCraftshow.com

Just to let you know!

Hi Everyone,

Well what a chilly day today is over here in the south-west of Western Australia, about to light the wood fire! 

Just to let you know, I do have a Mammy's Facebook page www.facebook.com/mammys507, so pop over and have a look and let me know what you think.  I am currently resetting everything up and getting Mammy's back into action so any comments or ideas you have are very much welcomed.

Also I am adding daily new items to my EZShoppes.  At present that is my main on-line store until I decide which is the best way to go and whether or not to go back into a large web shop.  There is just so much out there and so much to learn...  keeps me busy!

Anyway, back to it... have a blessed day.

Sunshine–and all week too!

What a glorious day it is, the sun is shining and there is no cold breeze to take away its gentle warmth – at last SPRING!! and what is even more wonderful, is, so the weather-man tell us, there will be sunshine all week!  Oh I know it is good to have the rain, especially for us folk in country communities that rely heavily on it for our rainwater tanks and survival in the summer months, but just a wee break from it would be nice.  Never happy, are we not?

Well the herb beds (I use two double old laundry cement troughs) are weeded and to be re-soiled ready for the next batch of parsley, basil, coriander and mint – which are the main herbs I use.  In smaller pots I have thyme and sage and this year I am going to have another go at growing garlic-chives.  I never seem to have much success with them, and if you know a successful way of growing them, then please let me know.  I love garlic-chives and though this is a simple recipe it is really delish!  Grate some cheddar cheese and chop up some garlic-chives (I say, ratio to your taste) and mix together and put it between some fresh bread…. oh yum!!  I promise you, you will crave the taste.

The folk art paints are out and I have some birdhouses and barn stars that need painting up, well that's the plan anyway; wish me well.

Been having some issues with the web-site and not sure what is actually going on – so please, yet again be patient.  I do have some items up on my Ezshoppes  http://www.ezshoppes.com/shoppe/?sid=MammysChoiceand Pinterest  http://www.pinterest.com/mammyschoice/

Well it seems the farrier has arrived and dear old BJ Bill desperately needs his hooves done so I had better be off.  He seems somewhat grumpy at the moment and I don’t blame him.  There is the most noisiest, annoying and destructive flock of white-tailed-black galahs flying in, around and over his house paddock and perching in the pine trees next to him.  The birds are well known for being very cheeky and if I am not mistaken they seem quite intent on harassing him. They have such a terrible screech and make an awful mess – but alas, they are protected by law… ho hum!  And the cheeky sods don’t even flinch when I bang pots together and make a hoo-haa to get rid of them.  Ahhh…. life in the country – wouldn’t change it for the world, even with all my whinging!

Till next, enjoy and all of country blessings to you!

PS: Came across this most beautiful picture – apologies for not referencing it – I usually reference all pictures, but must have overlooked this time.