Moving Back Into My Website

As most of you know by now, I have been working towards re-opening my website and been working really hard to get to this point. Now the time has come for me to move back in so I have decided to make both my website and blog unavailable which gives me the chance to work on them openly but dont worry...not for long...just till the end of the week. Please pop back as I would love for you all to help me celebrate the re-opening of Vintage Mosaic Boutique! There may even be a suprise or two???

See you all soon xo

Our Summer Holiday Part 6 ~ Dromana Beach Huts

Well...sometimes you just need to sit down on the beach and enjoy so come enjoy the lovely Dromana beach huts with us!

We really enjoyed our walk on the Dromana beach and watching the sun start to make its way down, there is something so relaxing about the beach...is it the sound of waves? The feel of sand between your toes or what you see when you look out over the horizon?

Whatever it may be the beach is truly a special place!

New Mosaic Coat Rack

Been busy again today taking photos of some new items and doing some more creating...This is the newest mosaic which can be used as a coat or towel rack featuring deep crimson coloured roses backed onto creamy white china.

Our Summer Holiday Part 5 ~ Ashcombe Maze & Gardens

Hi everyone, as promised this post is a follow up to my last post from Shoreham...lots of photos in this one so be warned...you might want to go get a cup of tea!

Ashcombe Maze & Garden is home to Australia's oldest & most famous hedge maze, a beautiful circular rose maze, and the year round flowering Lavender Labyrinth - all set among 25 acres of world acclaimed gardens.

The traditional Hedge Maze is planted with more than 1000 cypress trees and thousands of metres of pathways. Now more than 3 metres high and 2 metres thick, the Mazekeeper clips the hedges 3 times a year.

The first trees planted on the property over 30 years ago, the lush evergreen "Cupresses Macrocarpa" are stunning and have been featured in all forms of media both locally and internationally. The dense sculptured walls of the two hedge structures now stand two metres wide and three metres in height and are enjoyed by those who face the challenge to lose themselves.

Luckly we were not amongst the ones who became lost! :)

Beautiful archways hiding a whole new world every which way you turn...

This was my all time favourite part of the whole place, the hedging, the hidden door way, water, lavendar, big old urns, roses...ooh...so lovely!!!

Pink carpet roses fill the urns

Everything about this place was just so perfect...

the look, the smells & the sounds...all so perfect!

I think I could have sat there all day long...

What about this hedge with a door inside? How cool is this???

We found a big old pond full of huge goldfish...Jake wanted to take them home lol.

Sorry fishy but you cant come home with us today.

The water Lillies were so pretty...pinks and whites all over the pond.

We could hear lots of frogs and tried to spot them but no luck...maybe next time.

Another huge water feature.

Lavender.

The Lavender Labyrinth is planted with lavender flowers all year round and the view is spectacular. More than 3000 lavender plants featuring more than 40 different lavenders.

Ashcombe's circular rose maze was the first of its kind planted in the world with 1200 rose bushes of over 200 varieties chosen for their colour & perfume. The object is to find your way to the centre - and then find your way out. Or you can just stop and smell the roses.

This garden below was one of the last gardens we saw before leaving...it was so very different to the rose garden & lavender fields but there was just something about it that I loved...maybe it had something to do with this amazing water feature & the bright red colour against the old burt out colours?

How beautiful!

What a huge garden...I think I might sit awhile...

OK, off we go again down the path...

Love this pic of Jake!

Some of my favourite flowers...hydrangers

Roses

Sunflowers always make me feel happy!!!

Love the way these flowers have been displayed into these large barrels!

And more hydrangers but this time blue...my all time favourites!!!

Guess what??? We even found some mosaics hiding around the gardens...

And another here.

A great day was had by all at Ashcombe Maze & Garden.

Located at15 Shoreham Road, Shoreham, Mornington Peninsula.

Our Summer Holiday Part 4 ~ Agapanthus Farm

I love taking a trip to Shoreham and visiting our favourite Agapanthus Farm...the colours are spectacular...the rich blues and the classic whites but back it onto a view like this and what can I say??? It is simply delightful!!!

Agapanthus are native to Sth Africa & popular for their foliage and long lasting flowers which come in a range of colours. Agapanthus are ideal background plants, edges, fence and driveway entrances. Grouped together, agapanthus make a truly stunning display.

We are going to be ordering a bulk lot of the 'Getty White' agapanthus for up both sides of the front driveaway once it gets a bit cooler. We originally had the 'Strawberry Ice' variety in there but I decided to put them in the back yard to go with my pierre de ronsard & iceberg roses so I cant wait to get them in.

These are the Strawberry Ice variety, a soft white with pale pink tips...very pretty in real life!!!

Well, thats it for me today there is more to come from Shoreham but it will have to wait till next time as there is so many photos I need to sort first...im kind of tired at the moment and need a rest but I dont think thats going to happen any time soon...so much to do! My Mum is coming home from her PNO Cruise tomorrow and Jake and I will be meeting her at the Melbourne Airport bright and early so I better get off to bed. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My Antique Rose Painting

Well, today I popped out to do a few things and amongst my choirs I was to pick up my new antique rose painting. A friend of mine found it at a market the other week and when I saw it I pleaded with them to let me take it home but no luck. Since then they found another piece which they wanted to pop in place of it so guess what...I received a call letting me know its now mine!!! Lucky me!!! I had planed on putting it in our study but I ended up placing it over the top of my sideboard in the kitchen...I think its just the right spot for it.

The detail of the roses are unbelivable and even look like you could lean in and grab them, I am so lucky to have such a beautiful piece hanging in our everyday sight...this will be a much loved piece for a very long time.

Our Summer Holiday Part 3 ~ Yummy Strawberries

Each and every year on our summer holiday we take some time out to spend picking the most delicious strawberries around! The Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm is located on the Mornington Peninsular and is a must do for anyone in the area...

The Sunny Ridge property was purchased by Pietro and Rosa Gallace in 1964. Originally an apple and cherry farming area, it wasn't until 1968 that strawberries were first grown.

Currently the largest strawberry producer in Australia, Sunny Ridge now spans 250 acres of land with properties in Main Ridge and Boneo. The property now grows strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, and avocados. Yummy!!!

I think Jake looks pretty happy with himself for choosing those yummy looking strawberries don't you???

I dont think there is anything better than fresh fruit picked then and there.

Look Mum, I found more!!!

They have the best shop full of so many yummy products that have been made with all their fresh fruit.

Yummo!!!

Even some faux food.

We couldn't help ourselves and ended up buying a few things to bring home, their strawberry jam would have to be the BEST EVER tasted by far as is the non-alcoholic strawberry wine which was out of stock this year...boohoo!!!

I love this pic of Jake while waiting for Dad to get an ice cream...I wonder what flavour it will be??? Hmmm???

Yummy strawberry ice cream!!!

Jake ran off and picked me a sweet flower...he seems to do this a bit as he is so thoughtful.
Hope you enjoyed our trip to the strawberry farm, we sure did! I bet you can guess what we had when we got back to our unit??? Strawberries??? Maybe??? lol.

Rocky Rockstar!

Two posts in one day...I was going to pop this on tomorrow but I just could not wait anymore so here it is...Jake came home from school yesterday and ran outside like he always does to play with the dogs. He decided to make our little Rocky Rockstar (as we call him) look like a real Rockstar...the funny thing is Rocky actually liked the glasses and wouldn't let us take them off...we had to chase him around th backyard for ages, lol. So we thought we would share one of our pics with the world...How cool does this dog look?

I hope you liked our little Rockstar! xo

Our Summer Holiday Part 2 ~ Sorrento Beach

While on holidays we had to spend some time at the beach ...even if we did not really have the best of weather we still made the most of it as the beaches are so beautfiul and clean up here. We love the sceens at Rye back beach but this time we decided to go to Sorrento backbeach for a change.

Jake had a ball for hours playing in the sand and building sandcastles with me.

I really enjoyed sitting and watching his little hands creating!

I love this picture of the shells printed into the rock.

Not a cloud in the sky!

The tide was pretty low this day but the look was just as beautiful with the waves crashing up against the rocks.

And here are some of the rock pools.

We didnt get to go swimming as it was pretty cool but we still had a wonderful time as you can see on my sons face below! :)

Our next trip is to the strawberry farm...

Our Summer Holiday Part 1 ~ Nepean Country Club Resort

I have finally had some time to sit down and sort out our holiday photos so today's post is on the Nepean Country Club Resort on the Mornington Peninsula. We have been timeshares owners for about 6 years now and every year we have been heading up to stay here over the Christmas break. It is simply a fantastic place to stay with so many wonderful activities on site!

Here is the main house with the reception entrance, our double story unit contains two bedrooms-1 queen & 2 singles as well as a fold out sofa for guests, 2 bathrooms-1 with a spa which we were not aloud to use due to water restrictions, a kitchen with all appliances including a dishwasher!!! Who wants to clean dishes while on holidays??? And we even have our own laundry with both washing machine & dryer.

The gardens on site are amazing and we always seem to feel like we are so far away from the city which we just love!!

This was our view of the golf corse from our top balcony.

Up the garden path, past the tennis courts and up to...

Fingal's Restaurant where they have yummy meals as well as fantastic service.

We spent every night swimming in the indoor pools and the mornings we tryed to get up early and go for a quick dip in the outside pool which was not heated...sounds cold but it was a lovely way to wake up refreshed and ready for the new day!

We also played lots of mini golf as you can see Jake firing away in the below pics...I tell you...he is so dangerous with a club and a ball! lol.

A HOLE IN ONE!!! WOOHOO!!!

We also had my Dad and Jenny come stay overnight with us which was lovely. Dad wanted to run in his new car which he picked up the day before arriving. I love Dad's new Calais International...he even gave me the keys to drive it around while they were staying with us...lucky me! I told him we can swap cars...he can take mine home and i'll keep this one! What do you think?

And here is Jake's favourite spot...the canoes...oh boy, we have had so much fun with these.

Jake ready to go out...

Faster Daddy, faster!!!

One night we were headed to the pools and I saw the most beautiful sky so I ran back to get my camera...I just love the colours in these photos..

Sometimes we take the every day things we see for granted and don't realize how beautiful things are around us...

I have so many other wonderful placed to share with you from our summer holiday so stay tuned for more of our adventures coming soon.

A Bit of a Colour Change

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Today the sun nice and bright so I decided to take some pics today of some of my mosaics and I thought I would share another photo frame with you all. I am trying to open my range from just using 'pink rose' china even if I do love it in my mosaics I thought it would be a nice change. I used old fushia coloured english plates with blue mirror tiles and a pretty rhinestone braclet to the top that I placed in a scrolly design. I really like the way this one turned out and hope you enjoy the change in colour too! :)

Hearts on Valentines Day

As we all know today is Valentines Day...a day we celebrate with our loved ones. Personally I think it is nice to celebrate your love on any old day and not just because you are suppose too or expected to on a day like today. I consider myself very blessed to be married to a wonderful man like my husband and love sharing each and every day with him...the good times and the bad, lol.

So here is a little note to my husband Cane, the same note I spoke on our wedding day...

I'll love you forever,
As I love you today,
You mean so much more,
Than words could ever say,
To live without you,
I wouldn't know how,
For i'll love you forever,
As I love you now.

On our wedding day, my husband had a song written just for me which was played at the reception while I sobbed my eyes out!!! I am not too good with computers but I would love to add the song (which I have on cd) to my blog so if anyone knows how to do it can you let me know please. Ta xo

New Paisley Design

I bought some wonderful english paisley plates from an antique store not too long ago and I have been itching to create something with them so I decided to incorperate them into a frame (as shown below) I also used pink italian mirror tiles and an antique braclet full of purple rhinestones all set in brass to the top which I just love! I started grouting my mosaics today...gee...its been a while!!! Anyway, here it is.

The Perfect Rose

Well, it has been a perfect day here in Melbourne...the sun is shinning brightly and the birds are singing. The garden seems to be alive and my weaping roses are coming to life. Last week I picked a lovely bunch of roses from them which is sitting in my lounge still but today there was just one that stood out...to me it was the perfect rose so I popped it onto a crystal vase and placed it on my side table. It is amazing how a rose starts off a a tiny little bud and blossoms into a flower with so many petals and with so much beauty! I am going to order some more David Austin Roses soon so I get them delivered in winter and the few I have chose are simply stunning! The Alnwick Rose, Heritage Rose & Glamis Castle Rose...very old fasioned flowers with huge cups and sweetly sented. I think they will go nicely with my Pierre De Ronsards & Icebergs. Since I have been on the hunt for beatufiul roses lately and spending so much time on the computer researching I thought I would ask everyone what their all time favourite rose would be???

Mosaics In Progress

As you all know I have been working hard to create some new mosaics...I am sooooo happy to be back into it and have so many ideas sitting in my head at the moment! Anyway, I thought I would share some of my unfinished projects I have going at the moment so here they are...

An English jewellery box & hand mirror with the same matching designs.

A close up of a rosey coat rack/towel rack.

This is the back of the vintage chair I spoke of in my last post, I kept it very simple and elegant and made it about the rose and the wording 'Mother'

Love the Royal Doulton China in this photo frame which I wouldn't mind keeping for myself, lol. I keep most of the photo frames I make as I love to see memories of my family placed into pretty china frames.

And a sweet little heart wall plaque that I have added dusty pink italian mirror tiles to the outside border. Like I said at the start of this post, these are unfinished projects that still need to be grouted which I hope to get done very soon.

Gail's Bella Roses & Super Guss

Hi everyone, its been sometime since I have been blogging as we had our January holiday a few weeks ago which we so enjoyed and Jake has just gone back to school...grade 2 this year! Its only been 3 days but I really miss him so much! I wanted to say a big thankyou to everyone who has been leaving comments on what mosaics they would like to see...I have my little list on my work bench and will be ticking them off as I go. I have 5 mosaics in place so far and hope to have a few more by the end of the month...my favourite would have to be an old vintage chippy green chair with hints of pink underneath that I have placed a beautiful big rose to an insert on the back with the word "Mother" Can't wait to show it to you all soon!

I have yet to post all my pics of our wonderful holiday but I have heaps to go over so I am going to start off with my beautiful new painting that Gail created just for me. I had the antique frame for a few years hanging over my lounge but it was never quite right so I thought I would leave my ideas with Gail and she could work her magic as she always does!

I got to catch up with my lovely friend Gail on our holiday as our apartment was pretty close by, we dont really get to see each other as much as we would like to as we are about 1.5hrs away but it is always nice to catch up when possible. I was so lost for words when I saw my new painting...it really took my breath away!!!

I think its just perfect hanging over my lounge and feel it completes the room. I could not be happier!!!

Once again Gail, thanks so much for a job well done...you have really outdone yourself on this huge masterpiece and I can not express how greatful I am to you! If you would like to see more from Gail you can see all her latest pieces and more by visiting her blog here.

Oh and I must share some pics of my little Jake and Gail's Super Guss playing at the park while on holidays...I love these pics!!!

Jake just adores Guss and loves to visit him when possible so when he found out we were close by we had to make a play date and take them to the park. Jake was so excited and bought a little pressie for his favourite super dog!

MEET SUPER GUSS!!!

How cute does he look with his superman cape?

They really enjoyed playing fetch...

and chasing one another around.

Then we went for a nice walk around the park before heading back.

Now, how cute is Guss? He looks so big and bulky but he is the most gentle giant I have ever seen!!! Thanks Gail and SuperGuss for a fun filled day. Love Jake and Mummy xo