Blue & Green Art - Giveaway

Last night I was experimenting with some paper doilies and paint in preparation for a photo shoot that I am styling soon (very exciting!!!)

So I got through painting  the yellow doilies

Then as I was mixing the turquoise paint I got a little distracted

I just loved the colour, 

it was so pretty, 

so I grabbed some canvas and painted it, 

as you do :-)

I liked the streaks in the paint showing the different shades of colour so I left the canvas just like that and went back to my original job, 

Unfortunately I was a little distracted and tried to rush my doily painting and left the doily on the paper in the same spot I painted it so most of them have stuck to the newspaper and I will have to start again, doh! 

That'll teach me for getting distracted.

The yellow ones are ok, 

probably because I hadn't gotten distracted yet :-)

Anyway, back to last night. 

After I rushed through the turquoise doilies I grabbed some of this

Mixed in a little of the paint and grabbed some more of these

and ended up with this

I am really happy with how they turned out and I just love the colour. 

The thing is I have no where to put them. 

So I want one of my lovely friends to have them. 

Each canvas measures 15 x 15cm 

and you can have the set of three.

Just leave a comment on this post and I will announce the new owner of an original "McCarthy Design" 

:-)

on Monday.

Oh and one last thing, I usually try and spend my weekend computer free for the most part but I have so many gorgeous pics and some great quotes that I find during the week that I would love to share. So I think that I will make Saturday my "Favourite Pic of the Week" day and Sunday can be my "Wise Words of the Week" day.

What do you think?

Have a great weekend and for those of you lucky enough to have a long one. Enjoy!

xx


PS. Giveaway is open to anyone, just leave a comment and make sure I have a way to contact you.

Before & After - Flooring

A few of my keen eyed friends have spotted that we have new flooring in our house.

I guess it really isn't that new any more we had it all done just before Christmas (as you do)

Over two days

After

before

day one was all of the carpet in the house

Day two was the new lino

It wasn't fun :-(

but well worth it :-)

oh, for those of you who picked up the lino thing...

yep, we went with linoleum or vinyl depending on where you are

we never thought we would but after living with the existing lino we found that most people thought it was floorboards when they saw it and it was so much warmer under foot and very forgiving if anything was dropped. Very easy to clean and maintain. Perfect!!!

after

before

before the kitchen makeover.. just because :-) 

it reminds me of how much we have done and how much I like the timber benchtops

We chose a lighter colour lino and we are thrilled with the results.

Some of the before shots are hard to see the floor but the best I could find at the moment.

Something tells me I really need to get my virtual files in order.

The carpet is darker with a different undertone but still brown. The difference is not as easy to see in these photos but in real life it is amazing, it's clean, without stains :-) 

after

 before

It is 3 1/2 years since we moved into this house and it feels like we still have so much to do but it is also good looking back over what we have done.

What do you think? Do you like the new flooring? 

Would you ever consider using vinyl/lino? 

What is your flooring preference?

xx

Decorating with flowers

In my opinion you can never go wrong with fresh flowers

There are so many colour and varieties to suit any style and taste

Having fresh flowers in the home is the perfect healthy way to freshen up your home and brighten up that spot in your house

Flowers can be arranged in so many different ways,

Use a variety together in one vase

A single stem in a bottle

Tie a ribbon around an old jar and add a bunch of your favourite roses

There are so many vessels you can utilise to display your flowers:

pitchers, watering cans, bottles, teapots, wine or champange glasses, bowls......

the possibilities are endless

You don't need to spend a lot on your flowers

If you are lucky enough to live near flower markets you can buy lots of gorgeous bouquets for a great price

but even if you don't local supermarkets stock bunches of flowers that are inexpensive.

If the flowers are looking a little worse for wear and they aren't marked down make sure you ask them if they will discount them for you, then grab a few bunches, cull the dead ones and you will still have a beautiful bunch of flowers to display for a few days.

My flowers are from Aldi and I bought the bunch of three stems for $4.99

I bought them on the day they came into the store and all of the buds were still closed. I love lilies for that reason, they last so much longer and you can enjoy watching the flowers open over a few days.

To make your cut flowers last longer you should:

• Place them in water as soon as possible
• Handle them with care, flowers bruise and will die quicker if bumped about
• Try to keep them out of direct sunlight
• Change the water daily or at least every second day adding a cap full of household bleach to the water
• Trim the stems each time you take them out of water as the stem seals and they don't drink as well

So what are you waiting for duck out and buy yourself some flowers and add a bit more beauty to your life :-)

xx

Guest Blogger - Home, Love and Life As I Live It

Hi and welcome to my first Guest Blogger post. 

If you missed my announcement you can read more about this series here

My very first guest is the lovely Michelle her blog is called Home, Love & Life As I Live It

I met Michelle through blogging and we connected instantly. We have so much in common and I have really enjoyed getting to know her better and chatting throughout the day on Facebook or via emails.

Michelle happily offered to be my guest and graciously shared more about her and her life. I hope you enjoy getting to know her better as much as I have.

Why did you start to blog and how long have you been blogging?

I started Blogging because I love to write and get to know different people. I hoped my blog would lead me to people with similar interests to myself and thankfully it has. I have been blogging for 9 months now and I love it each and every day and enjoy reading fellow bloggers blogs as well.

What do you mainly blog about?

I blog mostly about my life, family, decorating my house and life in general. If I should learn a new skill then I like to pass that on to my readers as I believe we can all teach each other something even if we think we can’t.

What does a normal day look like for you?

A normal day for me starts at 5am when I get up with Chris as he’s getting ready for work. Once he’s left I make a coffee, sit down with my laptop while everyone else is asleep and blog or catch up on blog reading or emails. I like to do this early as it’s the only time of day I have complete quiet. Then once Bec and Luke are up (usually around 7am) the day starts with the usual breakfast, then tidying up, maybe run a few errands in town and then home to some gardening, looking after crazy animals and planning how to decorate the rest of my new home.

Most used small appliance in your kitchen?

This would undoubtedly have to be my coffee machine....I can’t go a day without a good cup of coffee and though I try not to drink too much some days I just need more than one cup  J

Do you buy things for your house because they look pretty or because they are functional and serve a purpose?

Hmmm this is a tough one....I would have to say a bit of both...I recently bought a new doona cover as I’m decorating with a new scheme and have to say this doona cover was bought purely out of prettiness.....I always try to buy for functionality first but sometimes functional isn’t pretty enough so I’ll wait and see if something pretty and functional combined will come along.

What is your dream job?

This is hard as I have a lot of interests which I would love to turn into a career....my first and foremost dream job has always been to be a hairdresser...these days I would love to write a column of some sort, interior designer or a photographer.....

Do you have a major goal this year and what is it?

In the blog world for myself my goal would be to develop my blog to the best it can be and have a whole lot of new visitors. Personally my biggest goal would be to become a mum again....

we’ll just have to wait and see how that one goes..... J

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I think I get most of my inspiration from what’s going on around me within my family and friends. I also find I have some amazing friends (they know who they are) who inspire and encourage me when others don't. If I find I'm lacking inspiration then I head to the beach as I find some time there always refreshes my mind and soul.

Are you a homebody or a traveller?

I think I would class myself as both...I love my home and my creature comforts but I love to get on the road and explore new places. Ideally I would love to take a year to travel and take lots of photos but I think that will be waiting until Chris retires..

How do you relax?

I love music and I’m a huge country music fan...yes people I love the country so stop with the faces hehehe.....I find even if I have work to do as long as the music is going then I'm relaxed. However when I'm just 'relaxing' I love to have a coffee and a chat with a good friend or go for a drive with Chris and obviously when the weather is good it's straight to the beach for me.

Thank you Michelle for being my first Guest Blogger, it was so lovely to learn more about you and your life.

I hope that you all enjoyed reading Michelle's answers and please pop over and say Hi to her at her blog:

 Home, Love & Life As I Live It

If you want to participate in my Guest Blogger series, I would love that! Just send me an email to

nellie@mccarthydesigns.com.au

xx

My House, My Weekend

My weekend was fabulous! How about you?

We caught up with family and friends, relaxed, cleaned and stayed warm!

On Friday (not technically the weekend but I start early) my nephew and I baked.

We made cupcakes from here

and we decorated them. 

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my nephew Vlad decorating each cupcake with lots of love and concentration. 

(If you don't follow me please look me up I only just joined but it is lots of fun)

He did so well.

We also made Michelle's fantastic Sticky Date Pudding you can find the recipe here.

My brother in law who was a chef said it was the best Sticky Date Pudding he ever had (maybe he has never had it before) and I think it was good even if  I say so myself.

For dinner we made pizza using Jo's dough recipe, that you can find here.

It also was a hit and we will definitely be using it again and again!

My new kitchen aid mixer that I got for Mother's Day works so well and I just love it!

Love 

Love 

Love

On Saturday we cleaned and I rearranged, as I do quite often

I am loving the lanterns, the horse head bookends and the clock.

All available in for purchase in my store by the way ;-)

Hope you have a great week and please pop in tomorrow for the start of my Guest Blogger series!

Tomorrows guest blogger is Michelle from 

Home, Love & Life As I Live It

Have a  great day

xx

 PS. You may or may not have noticed that there are no photos or the yummy food we made, you see, even though it tasted fantastic,I could not photograph it so it looked as good as it tasted or any good at all really. So I think I need to practise baking and cooking pretty looking food then I need to practise photographing it. I think I may also need to start exercising regularly as well :-)

Blessing Others - TEAR Australia

Earlier today I mentioned that I will donate 10% of all sales in my store McCarthy Designs & Occasions to a different not for profit organisation each month and that I would share a short feature on the organisation at the start of each month.

For June 10% of all sales from my store will go to 

TEAR Australia

The following information and pictures are straight from TEAR Australia's website

www.tear.org.au

TEAR Australia is a movement of Christians in Australia responding to the needs of poor communities around the world. Our motivation comes from our belief that God loves all people, and in Christ offers them the opportunity of a new life. We believe that God is just, and has particular care for the poor and those who suffer as victims of injustice.

We work in partnership with other Christian groups, including churches, relief and development agencies and community-based organisations, which are working with the poor in their communities. We seek to build effective relationships with these partners, grounded in mutual respect, trust and accountability.

Priority is given to those programs that strive to involve the most marginalized and exploited members of each community, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.

In Australia, we work to inform and empower Christians, in partnership with local churches, to make a Biblically-shaped response to suffering and oppressed communities.

If we each do a little bit and share our blessings 

we can make a difference 

xx

Blessing Others

More and more lately I have been reminded of how blessed I am. I may not be rich by Australian standards but I am rich compared to many people in the world.

"Three billion people live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. Seventy percent of those living on less than $1 per day are women."

(http://www.globalrichlist.com/)

www.homelessissues.com.au

I have days where I worry because I haven't sold anything from the store and I haven't made any money but the Lord gently reminds me that I am rich, I still can go and buy coffee and cake and spend $15 on this luxury without thinking twice.

There are days I look at other peoples houses and I wish I had a bigger house with a double garage and an office and more storage and a bigger bathroom and again I am reminded that I have a roof over my head and not only does it keep the weather out I have heating and cooling to make my home comfortable and cosy.

Think about this:

• The water walk. Women in developing countries travel an average of almost four miles each day to collect water.
• The poor pay more. People living in the poorest slums can pay as much as ten times more for water than those in high-income areas of their own cities.
• Gender disparity. According to the U.N., the majority of people in poverty are women, who globally earn roughly half as much as men.
• Daily bread. Food prices have risen 83 percent since 2005, disproportionately affecting those in poverty who spend a higher percentage of their income on food.
• No school for you. In 2005, a conservative estimate stated that 72 million children around the world of elementary school age were not enrolled in school.
• The global wealth gap. The richest 20 percent of the world's population receives 75 percent of the world's income, while the poorest 40 percent receive only 5 percent of the world's income.

Statistics are from the World Bank and the ONE Campaign.

So what am I going to do to share my riches?

As a family we have our own commitments to organisations such as Compassion Australia, Homes of Hope International, RSPCA etc, but I just feel so thankful, everyday I give praise for the ability to be able to start my own business and do what I love on a daily basis. I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I want to  share that blessing to others.

Every month I am going to choose a not for profit organisation that I believe works to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than I and I will be donating 10% of all sales from my online store to this organisation.

At the beginning of the month I will feature the organisation  and share with you all a little of what they do.

In theory this sounds good but when I don't sell anything 10% of nothing is nothing! Not very helpful at all, so at a minimum $100 each month will be given to the chosen organisation, hopefully for me and the organisation this will be more and more as my business grows :-)

This months organisation is 

TEAR Australia

I will be back later today to share more about TEAR Australia with you all.

I would love to hear what you think.

xx