Sometimes people are just plain lovely | Little Brown Owl

Sometimes its so easy to get caught up in our own little worlds and focus on the negatives. Who can blame us? Turn the news on at night and count the "happy" stories (and no I dont mean the one token oh look a cat got caught in a drain pipe lets finish the news on a high kinda story!)


But sometimes,there are moments which just make you smile, and sometimes people are just plain lovely...


Here is one of those stories.


A week or so ago I posted a link on our Facebook page to a tutorial to make a coffee cup cosy with of course another moustache on (yes, we ❤ moustaches at The Owl & the Elephant and aren't afraid to admit it!! See here for more moustache lovin'). Now I would have LOVED to have added it to my projects list and found the time to make it, but let's face it...I am having a BABY in 6 weeks!! Prioritise!!


Anyhoo, a number of our lovely likers commented on it and one of them was Lori from Little Brown Owl. This gorgeous lady offered to MAKE ME ONE!! YES!! I was so blown away with such a gesture. Now Josie has been known to refer to me as the Ice Queen, in the most affectionate way possible and I fully acknowledge I am not one to show my emotions and aren't the 'huggy type'...but this offer actually made me get a little misty-eyed! I was totally blaming the pregnancy then thought, nup...you know what? That was a REALLY nice thing for a stranger to do! So without further ado...I hereby present my lovely gift that arrived in today's mail...

So thank you Lori!! I love it!!!!!!!

Thought of the moment: 

Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything it covers

Free school holiday fun with small children....and snails!

Before Josie got chickens, this is what we liked to do with our snails....turn them into pets! Beautiful, shiny, sparkly, glittery pets...

A little nail-polish can go a looonnnggg way on a snail! We transformed their shells into moving works of art.
Now I thought about writing a tutorial on this, but figured you would know what to do! Don't worry, they aren't as hard to catch as you might imagine...try the stalk and pounce approach, then when you pick them up dangle them by their shell and then make girly squealing noises when they start "blowing bubbles, Mummy!!!"

Then of course we had to name them all. 

So what does one name a snail?

With a four year old and almost 2 year old this is what we came up with...

Ruby

Snow White

Mandarin

Sparkles

Rosie

Pinky

Violet

Pearl 

What do you think? Better names than the 7 dwarfs right? I know, my girls are VERY creative!!

And the fun didn't stop there. Once we had painted and named them all we had to:

Watch them race (I know, its cruel and should be banned!)

Watch them climb Rapunzel's tower (aka an icecream bucket)

Hide them in the garden and play "where's the snail"

Make snail towers (no snails where harmed in the making of said towers)

And then the next 3 or 4 days, EVERY morning the first thing we had to do was race out to the garden to play 'find the snail'!

The look on her face says it all really, doesn't it? ❤

Now before you go thinking I have become a big softie...this was the last snail-loving activity we ever performed in our garden...as only a week later The Owl household got CHICKENS!! Yes, my snail loving days were over in an instant..we became the Snail Hunters in The Elephant garden and those chickens started getting FAT!

What do you do with the kids to create memories during the holidays?

Thought of the moment:

Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly

What does an Owl make an Elephant for Christmas?

Josie The Owl is one of those 'awesome present givers'...you know, the type that spends ages thinking about the perfect present for someone? No gift vouchers, socks or chocolates from that gal...she takes present giving very seriously!

So what did The Owl make for The Elephant this Christmas? Something she was bursting out of her skin to show me and tell me about days before Christmas...that's what!!

NOW I know why she was asking me what my favourite scripture was...I couldn't pinpoint one so she had to stalk me on Pinterest and see which ones I had been pinning!

Seen here with Earl the Elephant, yet another awesome gift from The Owl, made by the ever so talented Robyn at Focus on Art

We love doilies here at The Owl & the Elephant, and are busy pinning LOADS of projects to captivate their frilly goodness! Have you seen any good doily repurposing?

And if you like the look of this one, be sure to check out Josie's hand-made rustic wooden signs made from repurposed palettes on our website. She custom makes a fantastic We Are Family sign which incorporates all your family names in a scrabble board style format. Or do you have your own favourite inspirational quote you would like? Contact us for a quote.

This is another of our favourites: 

Available on our website

Stay tuned to see what The Elephant made The Owl for Christmas!!

Thought of the moment:

Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock.
Walter Benjamin

Mama told me there'd be days like this.....

So you know those days, the one's where you peer out the curtains and it LOOKS nice and sunny and happy and then something happens and you realise that the nice sunny happy day has lured you into a false sense of security and BAM - the day may have gone better if you had just stayed in bed.

Well my day was kinda a eeny teeny bit like that. It got better but boy did it start out super special!

Max the youngest owl is one of those kids that wakes up super happy, and stays super happy as long as you feed him ASAP once he is up, as in get him out of cot, run to kitchen, throw food at him until he bursts and then continue on with the day.

So today I got him out of his cot, ran down to the kitchen, put him in his why did I not know about these 8 years ago IKEA highchair and went about getting his breaky. No milk - ok so what? no cereal today he can have toast. No bread - ahhhhh crap!!!  I was totally not intending to put my bra on nor brush my hair for AT LEAST another 3 hours.

Get the four kids dressed, pack them in the car (which I have had back for only a few weeks after the last "incident") get the milk, bread and other various non-essential items (mind you those choc chip muffins rreeeeaaaallly came in handy later on down the track!) pack the kids back in the car, reverse out, head to exit BANG car is on two wheels, moment of panic, what have I done??? Car back on four wheels, park it again thinking I have hit a parked car again but NO!! IT WASN"T MY FAULT!!!! WOHOOOO!!! (I know, I know, not REALLY a cause to celebrate but if you read back a couple of blog posts you will understand) feling very shaken I hope out of the car and inspect the damage. Having felt like it all morning, I have just - quite literally, been hit by a truck. Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse having had to drag four kids out of the house before 8am...IT DID.

At home a strong coffee and a couple *cough* of chocolate muffins later I felt a little better. * sigh* its just a car, we are all ok and its insured. Stuff happens,stressed spelled backwards is desserts and if all else fails... smile!!!

Now to Nat's day..... now lets all be honest here... how many (let alone those of us trying to run an online business) could live without the net nowdays? This is the predicament facing the lovely Mrs Elephant today - no net till Tuesday!!! She was reduced to reading a book!! Looking stuff up the old fashioned way and having to go without Pinterest - cold turkey!!! Its just not right..... It has however made her come up with the newest Owl and the Elephant" clause. We solemly swear, no matter how big we get. We will NEVER send your phonecalls offshore. Ever. So my car may be written off, but no internet? Like none? No Pinterest, no facebook, no online shopping? Nat wins.WHat did we do without the net?

Something that makes our bad days better? The days a little sunnier and our smiles a little bigger? Our new repurposed, shabby chic, bus roll inspired, rustic wooden signs. We hope you love them as much as we do!! head over to our website for full details on owning one of these babies or on requesting a custom design!!

Thought of the moment:

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.  ~Author Unknown

refurbished man cave rubbish

So yesterday Mr Owl flew out to a new job. He has always done FIFO but has been at home for a while so today, I found myself home, alone ( well with the kids) without a man sitting on the couch, asking the tough questions like "what's for dinner" and generally getting under my feet (NB: I DO love Mr Owl dearly but you know what they say - abscence makes the heart grow fonder!)

Unsure exactly what I was supposed to do now I had one less child to entertain I busied myself with the housework ( how does one man make so much mess?) played with the kids, got dinner ready and rearranged some furniture. Something was still missing - I could feel it in my bones, this little tingle that I havent felt for oh so long! I felt the urge to be creative!!! So I did what all handcrafters with time on their hands do... I hit Pinterest!!!

Amongst the pictures of biscuit dunkers and Owls in awkward positions all I felt was even more inspired to "do" something.  So off I went and raided Hubby's man cave, with all the bits and bobs I found this is what I came up with:

My very own recycled, refurbished, re-used busroll/word art! What do you think?

Thought of the moment:

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
Steve Martin 

World's most dangerous jobs

 According to google the top 10 most dangerous jobs list goes a little like this:

1) commercial fisherman
2) Logger
3) aircraft pilot
4) farmer/rancher
5 ) roofer
6) steel worker
7) refuse collector
8) industrial machinary worker
9) truck driver
10) construction worker

Now, not to make light of the serious dangerous nature of some of the jobs out there I would like to add one.

11) handcrafter.

I have already lost most of my fingerprints to the hot glue gun so I suppose I didn't REALLY need feeling in the tip of my thumb, right? All stitched back up but never to feel the same *sigh* 

Why did these kind of things never happen when I was a kid and trying my darndest to get out of school work? Why do they happen now when I have stuff to do... like serious online shopping requiring the use of both thumbs for fast typing?

On top of all this? Mrs Elephant is not here to console *cough*laugh*cough* at me. I think I need a hug.


On the plus side I did manage to almost complete a large number of handcrafted nappy wipes cases before my injury in preparation for Perth Upmarket THIS SUNDAY!!! We can't wait to mingle with some of the best handcrafters in Perth including Tickety boo - kids with their unique collection of childrens clothing and retro artworks, inuk designs because if you don't know what a snood is you TOTALLY should, Tex & Joe and their amazing collection of organic goodess that has even been featured in Masterchef magazine and Happy as Larry who has a felt floor rug with my name on it! ( well not literally but I would really really really like one for Master 2's room re-do!) just to name a few! If you are in Perth this weekend you would be crazy to miss it! and if you are lucky enough to make it be sure to hunt us down and come say hi! Look at these beauties will you?

Thought of the moment:

Do what you can, With what you have, Where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt

*cough cough splutter*

Today I (Josie) have a VERY serious case of man cold...... don't panic, as bad as it may seem I feel I can push through and will make it to see another day... just. Feel free however to commence sympathy messages..........NOW. (NB: whilst drafting said sympathy messages please take into account my four children, growing pile of washing, uncooked dinner for before mentioned children and absence of husband to mine site somewhere)

I have also lost all but one of my fingerprints to this growing pile of as yet unfinished  wipes cases:

courtesy of this ...

My old faithful 'has seen better days' glue gun.

On the plus side, whilst wallowing in self pity with my trusty laptop, snuggly blanket and cuppa I DID happen to stumble across the following beautiful blogs...

A beautiful mess - well lets face it the title drew me in!!

and the lovely Gemini Stitches who blogged about some absolutely GORGEOUS purchases she made on July 15th... :oP hehehe

Now with my current state in mind the thought of the moment is out the window!! (well just for today!) and replaced instead with....


Laugh of the moment:

sticky fingers...

Sometimes we like to stick fabric to stuff just cause we can.....

and sometimes we like to do it just for you!! have you seen our beautifully covered trays? 

What would you like to see covered in fabric? 

Thought of the moment:

Organised people are just to lazy to look for things... anon

Rocking Chair Reveal!!

So yesterday we started off with a pink fairy girls rocking chair, today The Owl & the Elephant have transformed it into a super funky, Sock Monkey Rocking Chair!!

Remember the "before" shot:

And here is the finished masterpiece:

 So what do you think? Please don't be shy.....leave a comment!!

Thought of the moment:
"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere." ~Glenn Turner

What a rockin' rocking chair!

So our devoted Facebook followers will know that Josie is on holidays at the moment in her hometown of Sydney...and that leaves 'her baby', aka The Blog a little neglected as we all know she is the one who has a 'way with words' and not moi!!

But, I couldn't leave you all waiting for our next post....so here is a little glimpse into our latest project.

A friend of mine kindly donated a little girls rocking chair to me recently, sweet baby pink with delightful fairies on it. Now those of you who know me...or know Miss Elephant, know that fairies "aren't my bag, baby"...so we had to do away with those and give them a little touch of The Owl & the Elephant of course!

Here are some before shots:

So this morning, a fine blustery Perth winter day...made me feel like tackling a project. Now Mr Elephant is on his last day of holidays today, so Mrs Elephant being ever so crafty (in the evil sense of the word!) only had to utter the words "Honey, I 'wonder' if this rocking chair seat would come apart with a screwdriver?". Of course my Mr Fixit jumped at the chance to whip out the tool box and got to work disassembling the chair for me.

The as you can see in this photo below, there was a nasty crack and bulge in the seat area which had to be sanded...a few more words from the Elephant and he was onto that too!

My oldest Elephant, almost 4 just loves Monkeys, and you may have seen this Sock Monkey Light Switch Cover we made for her some time back (available to purchase here), so I thought it would match perfectly to use that fabric on the renovated rocking chair which will sit in her bedroom. So I got to work....here are some 'during' shots...

Now it should be dry some time today, tomorrow I will finish off trimming it all up and then reassemble it and post the 'after' shots!!

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think so far. Also if you are in Perth and have a piece of furniture you would like us to add The Owl & the Elephant touch to, contact us here. We love a challenge! 


There is a sample of our current furniture pieces on our website.

beauty isn't in the eye of the beholder - ITS HERE!!!!

So as mentioned in earlier posts we have a side table/ hall table/ doolacky table that we intended to repurpose/shabby chic/ do up/ renovate and make all round amazing..... well we failed.

We did NOT make an amazing table. We make a super dooper ooper beautifully awesomely amazing table!!! We just fell in love with this Michael Miller fabric and new it would go perfectly on this table.

As you MAY be able to tell we are a little excited!!! So tell us..... what do you think??

Thought of the moment:

Everyone has photographic memory; some just don't have the film.
Anon

Kids Table - The Owl & the Elephant Style!

We hope you have all had a fabtabulous weekend!! Perth was lucky enough to have a public holiday today giving us one extra day to do... "stuff"

 The Owl spent the weekend learning how to braid hair (thanks mumsy-in-law!!) and use her slow cooker
(HELLO! hands down BEST kitchen tool EVER!)

Whilst the Elephant took this table and chair set belonging to Evie Elephant....

Along with this piece of INCREDIBLY cute fabric...

Ironed it .... (a concept foreign to Mrs Owl who has only just purchased her first iron)

Prepped took apart the table...

Assembled the necessary tools including Pierre the Pirate (everyone needs a cheer squad!)

and created this!!!!.........

 (The Table!!! Evie elephant whilst undoubtably cute is a past project!) 

I WANT ONE!!! you hear yourself yell! wellllll........

OK! We would LOVE to make one for you in YOUR choice of fabric for  $70 simply send us an email and we can get started!!

Thought of the moment:

Slow cookers are ORSE