Whimsical Imaginings

'With Love and Devotion'

2012-01-23T16:08:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to Everyone and welcome to another fun-filled year in the world of Whimsical Imaginings!
Wow, I have such a big year planned with lots of workshops, exhibitions and shows as well as the website, blog and facebook; oh and of course, then there's the family, friends, house and pheww.... I'm beginning to sound crazy already!
I had such a lovely day creating yesterday, it was raining and cool - just perfect to allow the creative juices to flow freely. This picture is called 'With Love and Devotion' and was inspired by a magnificent sheet of scrapbook paper from Bella Paperie and the stunning velvet flowers and trims from Miss Rose Sister Violet. Masses of pearls, flowers and gorgeous lace in delicate hues of soft pinks, creams and aquas ...... oh, if only you could see it in the flesh as it is so much prettier in real life!
I have decided that the phrase 'With Love and Devotion' shall be my mantra for the year 2012 as I tackle every new project. What a wonderful way to enjoy the journey, don't you agree?! Jule x

Reminiscing!

2011-12-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Well as the year comes to a close and I reminisce about the past twelve months, I am reminded of the hardships that we may have endured but more importantly the things that have made me smile. We can spend forever dwelling on the negative aspects in our lives or we can choose to shift our focus and place all our energies into remembering all the 'good' we have to be thankful for and that is precisely how I try to live my life each and every day.

And so it is for today, that I have a totally unrelated group of images here that have all made me smile this year, they have warmed my heart and brought me much joy and no they are not necessarily all work related but nonetheless they are part of my story, a story that I am sharing with you because you because you are a part of that story too.

I wish you every happiness for the New Year and may the year 2012 see you smile more and frown less!

Warmest wishes always,
Jule x

The coldest December day in Queensland for 40 years ... Love it!

My Christmas Garden Tea Party window - finished at last!

Oh so pretty that I think I could live in this window!

Chocolate and Strawberry Torte.... yumm!

Ready, set, blow - my eldest grandson just a few short week's ago!

I've never seen a prouder person than when Lisa revealed her half-finished doll at this year's Fairy Workshop Weekend Retreat....pure joy!

Mother Nature never fails to impress us up here on the mountain!

My favourite elf-helper and I in Lollipop Land!

Chris Boston and I... big kids at heart!

My youngest grandson finally puts his head under the water.... yay!!

Peace and tranquility.......

Planking, Chris Boston style... always the clown and a constant source of entertainment for me!

Travels through the house.

2011-11-26T20:55:00.001-08:00

What a lovely, quiet Sunday afternoon on the mountain.....so peaceful with the sound of birdsong ringing in my ears. I just thought I would take a tour through my little pretties and share some images with you and if you visit my facebook page, you will also find some of my Christmas photos as well! .........as you will see, I have a had another busy week in paradise. Enjoy, create, inspire, share and love, love, love all that you do! x www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au

The 'Pink' Window

2011-11-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hello to everyone again and I thought I would share this with you today.....enjoy!

The 'Pink' Window - created for Christina's Cottage in Merredin, WA

My thoughts were to create the ambience of an outdoor Christmas Tea Party complete with pretend grass and a lush garden ....... I began with a standard trestle table (one of those boring ones from the hardware store) and wrapped the table legs in masses of soft pink tulle, I then covered the top in a piece of torn calico. The dusty old chairs were discovered in the shop owner's garage, so I cleaned them up and covered the seats in calico to match the table; adding torn sashes of calico around the chair-backs and finally embellishing each one with a glittery pink bow.

The table was adorned with crisp white table-ware and glass cannisters filled with fluffy pink and white marshmallows. The little milk bottles were filled with yummy pink lemonade and pretty little pink & white striped straws. Glittered birds were then perched atop the bonbons awaiting the guest's arrival and of course, what Tea Party is complete without cup-cakes and bubbly, so I added pearl garland into the wine glasses to create the illusion of bubbles!!

The tapestry wall-hanging was purposely chosen to lead you to believe that you were outside looking in, and warms the window beautifully with the timber doors and chairs complementing each other. The eight and a half feet Christmas tree was lavishly decorated with pink and silver decorations along with some twinkly, starry lights and the spruce garlands up above were entwined with glittery bauble garlands and lots of sparkly fairy lights.

The doorway behind the tree was swathed in masses of pink glittery vines to create the illusion of an archway leading inside and of course what Christmas garden would be complete without a hedge of miniature Christmas Trees! The garden bench was covered in pink and cream scatter cushions with dozens of white and pink blooms billowing behind and over the top of the seat. A wonderful iron-framed mirror made a perfect back-drop and to complete the story, and ........for just a little bit of fun, I added two stunning 'pink' chandeliers........as any good fairy would do!!

Of course, none of this would have been possible were it not for Rhonda from Christina's Cottage giving me the freedom to dream up this gorgeous window; or without the assistance of my ever-helpful husband Steven with his strength, height and building knowledge far exceeding my limited capabilities :-))
I thank them both sincerely and am forever grateful for the opportunity to put this window together.

I hope you enjoy the window display as much as I did creating it for you..... remember to have fun with your Christmas decorating too!
Jule x

Best wishes for a beautiful day to you all!

2011-10-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

I'm struggling with the juggling.........of time and life, that is. Sometimes the balance just gets all out of kilter doesn't it? What with work, family and friends along with the myriad of other 'stuff' that creeps into our calendar, it's no wonder that we all seem time-poor these days. It's times like these that I just have to stop, reassess and regroup and then work out what it really important and what isn't.

For most of us, we tend to put everyone else's needs above our own but at the end of the day if we don't take good care of ourselves then there won't be anything left to go around anyway. As weird as it sounds, we all need a moment of selfishness from time to time in order to recharge the batteries. I'm thinking my selfish moment might be coming up really soon : -))

I have two gorgeous ladies who come to my house every month to make and create wonderful projects. They never cease to inspire me with their fabulous ideas and we spend lots of fun times bouncing crazy ideas back and forth between us as well as having lots of laughs and eating ourselves silly of course!

Today I thought I would share an image of one of the items that was created last time by Judy. It's a three dimensional painting of a vase full of flowers.......both before and after.....very clever don't you agree??

2011-08-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone and just thought I would include today the latest news on what I am up to..........it feels like forever since I visited here - what happened to July I wonder?
Lots of hugs to you all and hope to hear from you soon! Jule x

PRESS RELEASE

Be mesmerized by the most amazing Christmas display that you could ever imagine at next week's Gold Coast Show from September 2 to 4. The theme for the competition entries in the Homecraft's Pavillion this year is Christmas and this enchanting, 'Lollipop Land' display is guaranteed to captivate and delight show patrons.

Allow me to introduce you to Sherbert Fizz!

Sherbert (or 'Bert', as he is known to his closest friends), puts the fizzle into the fizz and is responsible for creating that tingle down your spine when you pop the very first spoonful of his amazing confectionery onto your tongue.

Bert is just one of the many fun-filled characters who live in Lollipop Land, a land of frost and snow at the North Pole, where the cauldrons are bubbling away cooking up everyone's favourite lollies. You will discover fairies, elves and pixies all frantically working to ensure that there is a constant supply of sweets on hand to tempt and tantalise us.

Journey with us, as we take the trip of a lifetime with Bert and his friends when we visit 'Lollipop Land' - a wondrous world where imagination has no boundaries and anything can happen!

We hope you can help us spread the word and join us for this fun-filled weekend where original doll-artist Chris Boston and visual display artist Jule Barten combine their talents once again in an explosion of colour and creativity to create an enchanting new world called 'Lollipop Land'. Sit in the magic chair or make a wish in the wishing well and enjoy this extra-ordinary display of hand-sculpted characters residing in their imaginary world...... you will believe!!

Jule Barten Ph 0412 786 046
www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au
jule@whimsicalimaginings.com.au

Chris Boston Ph 0439 660 948
www.chrisboston.com.au
cboston@ine.com.au

Angel Garden

2011-06-23T21:45:00.001-07:00

Every now and then I have time to play and this lamp was no exception as my whimsical mind danced through the land of velvet flowers and beaded laces and discovered this beautiful Angel Garden Lamp that was hiding inside of me.

Inspired by the gorgeous Miss Rose Sister Violet flowers and trims, it was easy to create something truly delightful and filled with the romance of yesteryear.

If you want to know how I made this beautiful lamp please contact me now to find out about one of the many workshops that I do where I can assist you to unlock your dreams of a beautiful work of art!

Until next time I wish you lots of creative thoughts and whimsical imaginings.
Love and hugs,
Jule x

www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au

a hop, skip and a jump .........

2011-06-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

Last post May 22 and then all of a sudden ........ a hop, skip and a jump and here we are almost at the end of June already....... what happened I wonder??!!

Well, it seems, lots! Steven and I had a site at the Dayboro Antiques and Collectables Fair at the end of May, then we both did the Nambour Collectorama the following weekend and then I had a stall at the 2-day Gold Coast Teddy and Doll Fair with Chris Boston and then last weekend I had a workshop in Cleveland on the Saturday and then spent the day at the Winter Wonderland Doll Show on Sunday......phew.... I'm almost out of breath thinking about it all!!

Add to that looking after a sick grandson for several days, running the website, helping a friend to move house, catching up with old school-friends and family, spending a lovely night away at Dayboro and all the other crazy stuff that fills my days it's no wonder that the last four weeks have disappeared, seemingly in the blink of an eye!

Somewhere in amongst all that chaos, I have also managed to find a few days to create more beautiful things with the lovely velvet flowers and trims from Miss Rose Sister Violet and I have been working on some amazing 'shell' bridal bouquets for a customer as well as completing some custom-made lamp restorations.......oh yes, now it is all coming back to me.......I have been busy, haven't I?

Today, I thought I would share a few images from Kirnicama, Dayboro, the lovely B & B we stayed at a couple of weeks ago.......well worth a visit if you like peace and tranquility as well as abundant bird life and gardens.

I have got lots of other images to load too - like the bouquets, lamps, etc, but I think I shall leave that to the next update for you. If anyone out there can tell me how to load images without so many hassles, that would be great as my images seem to jump all over the place - a bit like my mind I guess : -))

Lots of love and happy wishes to you all for today and I will be back soon!! Jule xxx

www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au

Sew What?

2011-05-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

Sewing may not be my favourite pastime but I absolutely love the vintage style Singer machines and was lucky enough to find this one recently at a garage sale. It had an old piece of pin-studded cloth wrapped around it which has caused some of the lovely gold ornamental writing to be worn off, but I'm okay with that because it's all part of the story......what sort of amazing garments were created with this machine, I wonder??
It is now residing on the mountain, officially retired from work other to look totally gorgeous as a fabulous prop for my laces!

Speaking of sewing (just kidding), I thought I would share my latest 'before and after' project with you. Please forgive me if you do love sewing but there's not a stitch in sight here, as my little dolly was totally transformed with my trusty glue gun :-)) Sew what??
I discovered this young lady hiding at the back of an op-shop looking very sad and lonely, so she came to the mountain for a little pampering and a whimsical make-over. All of the Miss Rose Sister Violet laces and trims have been hand-dyed in delicate aqua, then strategically positioned so as to give the illusion of a beautiful garment. Her hair has been embellished with small pieces of baroque trim complete with sparkly gems and gold threads, and all in all she is now delightfully happy with her new look don't you think?

If you have a doll or a even a teddy bear that needs a little T.L.C. or facelift, please don't hesitate to contact me to help you with your project and you will find all of the trims and laces you need in my on-line store at www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au

Until next time, I wish you happy days and lots of special moments.

Jule x

Morning Tea on the Mountain

2011-05-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

Bright blue skies, crisp mountain air, the sweet sound of the birdsong and the delicious fragrance of hot scones fresh from the oven.......all made for a warm welcome to the lovely ladies from the Northside Doll Club who came to visit last Wednesday.

It was such a pleasure to have this wonderful group of ladies in our home and in addition to a yummy morning tea served by hubby Steven and Nana extra-ordinare (my beautiful mother), I conducted a mini craft demonstration for the ladies showing them how to make a tassel and a hair clip/brooch.

Luckily my stunning niece was also on-hand to help with the ladies as they excitedly found my little room full of treasures to explore!

All in all, a fun time was had by all and ........ spoilt me!!! ........... in appreciation for my efforts, the ladies presented me with a stunning hand-crafted porcelain doll ........ scarily now though, I am supposed to dress her......here's hoping I can live up to the ladies' expectations!!

If you would like to visit the mountain with your craft group or doll club, just email me at jule@whimsicalimaginings.com.au to arrange a booking or call me on 0412 786 046

Until next time, I bid you farewell and wish you a happy day!

http://www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au/

The Romance of a Wedding

2011-05-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Love & Romance; Friendship & Family; Hearts & Flowers; Hugs & Kisses; Pure Joy & Fun,,,,,,, all you need for a day filled with happy memories shared between two people in love.
Every time a beautiful bride entrusts me to share her day by either making her bridal bouquet or a stunning hairpiece or hair garlands for the flower girls or even decorating a bridal arch; I feel truly blessed to be considered to be included in this wonderful celebration.
The love and care that I put into every detail is only out-measured by the love and care that each bride dedicates to making her day memorable.
If you need something special for your special day, I would love to hear from you too!
Please contact me at jule@whimsicalimaginings.com.au to discuss your wishes and dreams for your perfect wedding day and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Jule xxx

www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au

The image of this totally gorgeous wedding cake was sent to me recently by one of my beautiful customers - Deborah Astill. Deborah purchased the cameo ribbon brooch from me to add to her own wedding cake and I am sure you will agree, the cameo made an absolutely stunning addition to an already special cake!

Deborah has a fabulous website herself doing terrific stationery and invitations for all occasions http://www.evolvebydesign.com.au/

Be sure to check it out when you need something for your next event!

Bunnies to You!!

2011-04-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone and I do hope the bunny finds you this weekend. Speaking of 'bunnies', I had the most amazing experience at home yesterday as I was greeting some customers out on the verandah..... I had been keeping an eye on the view from our home all morning as it had been particularly spell-binding.........I woke to bright blue skies stretching as far as the eye could see with a blanket of puffy white clouds formed down low in the valley in front of us.

As the morning progressed the 'fog' lifted higher and higher and more and more clouds appeared high up in the sky. It seemed like every time I walked past the front door, the view was even more amazing and being the shutter-bug that I am I just couldn't help myself - documenting the clouds' journey as it lifted higher and higher into the sky.... simply wonderful.

Crazy, I know but I've always been a bit of a cloud-watcher and I never cease to be impressed and inspired by the views that we have here on the mountain...... anyway, as I greeted my customers on Good Friday I happened to glance up once more and this time the clouds literally took my breath away....... 'look, look everybody'..........'do you see what I see?' ....... and there you have it ......... my Easter view ........ Do you see, what I see, I wonder?

Crystal Camellia Lamp

2011-03-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, this past week has certainly been a busy one with both the open-house event here and the Brisbane Craft Expo too. We had a great time at both and it was certainly wonderful to see many of our lovely customers once more.

I worked with Tom and Gaye on the Miss Rose Sister Violet stand at the Craft Expo and one can't help but be inspired by all the beautiful new trims and products that they now have. Gaye's creative spirit is infectious and all I want to do is 'play' with so many new ideas floating through my whimsical mind!

I will shortly be loading several new items onto the website; I have many new projects that I wish to complete; I am doing the Ipswich Gala Doll Show this weekend with Chris Boston; I have several workshops coming up and I also have customer orders to do for lamps and wedding corsages........busy, busy, busy........ I'm like a bee buzzing around everywhere (a bee without the sting though, I hope).

Today I thought I would an image of a little lamp that I made recently, it features a fairy pink camellia and the Crystal French Braid and the good news is that it has a friend as I made two the same..... although..... you do realise that being totally hand-crafted, it is impossible to make two items identical don't you?? : -))

May your days be filled with sunshine regardless of the weather and may your hearts be filled with love regardless of any dramas that are happening around you.

Until next time, I wish you lots of hugs and take care.

Jule

http://www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au/

Rainy Day Creation

2011-03-13T04:12:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain and more rain - only a handful of several fine days in a row since October last year. Mouldy house, unfinished paint job, washing clothes becoming a challenge without a clothes-dryer and yet it all seems so insignificant when the news comes on and we sit stunned at the devastating losses incurred in 2011's latest catastrophe as it unfolds in Japan. Shock, horror, disbelief and once again we are reminded of just how fragile our world is.

We are sooooo lucky, regardless of what happens to us for there is always someone in the world going through more pain than we can ever imagine isn't there? Our love and healing thoughts go to everyone who is suffering right now.

I must say that rainy days do wonders for the creative spirit though - maybe because of that trapped inside feeling of 'what can I do today'? .... or in my case it might just be..... 'I must get to those customer orders that are sitting there waiting for my attention'.

Anyway, I just thought I would share an image of this magnificent cream rose swag that I made for a special customer today. It is almost a metre in length and will be used as a back-drop behind her bed........hope she likes it!! You can find all of these flowers in my website http://www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au/ or maybe you would like to do a workshop and learn how to make your own fabulous swag!

Until next time, remember to love what you do and do what you love, Jule x

Hearts and Velvet Flowers

2011-03-01T03:48:00.000-08:00

Time marches on.......1st March already and where is Autumn I wonder as it was sooo hot today??
We have both been busy taking photographs and loading lots of new products onto the website but it is certainly a time consuming process - pity Steven didn't do typing at school like I did but then again he's a much better carpenter than I will ever be!

I embellished this gorgeous Miss Rose Sister Violet velvet heart cushion for a friend for Christmas and thought you might like to see it. I love it and I must get around to making another one day, although I never do seem to make anything quite the same as that would take all the fun out of creating!
If you are looking for the velvet flowers or lace, you will find them and a whole lot more on my website http://www.whimsicalimaginings.com.au/
Until next time remember to embellish your life with everything you love!

Alice in Wonderland

2011-02-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

Two and a half years and I'm finally back .........where have I been I wonder? Maybe this time I can be a good girl and play the 'blog' game properly........ watch this space for my whimsical imaginings and creative ramblings!

I thought I would start with my most favourite lampshade that I have ever created.......no budget, no boundaries and no time limit - just lots of fun, frivolity and flowers!

Inspired by my love of the story Alice in Wonderland this gorgeous lamp can now be found in Christina's Cottage in Merredin, Western Australia.

It started out as the most fabulous shaped lampshade that I have ever discovered.........if only such beautiful things were more readily available! Aaaahhh, what wonderful dreams for us all.

xxx

Help, I'm on my 'L' plates!

2008-06-18T04:37:00.000-07:00

This is my first night writing a 'blog' and I've got two teachers telling me how to do it 'coz one isn't enough!