BUILDING FOR ETERNITY

I’m so grateful that it has taken time to build our home. During the long process of waiting on finances, God has been working in us a new dream. One that has far more eternal impact than bricks and mortar.

While I still love the forever home that we are in the process of constructing, it doesn’t hold me in its grip. It will always be a place for our family and friends to flourish, to gather and celebrate, to live life to the full, but it won’t consume me.

This is a huge shift as my whole life has been about interiors, design and ‘stuff’.

I am more excited about the charity we have established and the not for profit store we are going to be opening in our city!

When I realised that a teacher in Uganda lives on $2.60 a day, a street child in Cambodia relies on sifting through rubbish on the city dump to find food, and that there are 147 million orphans worldwide as I type this, it changes the type of ‘stuff’ I want to put my effort into.

I was searching online yesterday for some exterior lights for the verandahs of our home. I saw some fantastic, exactly what I had been looking for lights and sent off an email to the company.

That rusty look just gets me every time!…Until I got the reply email, where each light is over $600 trade!!

How can I think about buying 10 x $600 lights for a house, when little children’s ‘lights’ go out every day for lack of food?

So far, the build has been pretty economical – what we have spent to date is far less than most people, because as a builder the man hours are $0, and materials can be bought cheaper.

My spirit will always be nourished by beautiful things, it’s how we were created. But beauty needn’t be expensive…

“When you have only two pennies left in the world,

buy a loaf of bread with one,

and a lily with the other.”

{Chinese Proverb}

 

 

Dreams deferred

Well, as I’ve been saying, it’s great to have dreams! I only talked about it a few days ago here.   And I know ONE DAY I will make it to the country music festival, but it won’t be this year.

Finances are pretty tight, what with building a house, heading to Uganda at Christmas on a missions trip, children’s birthdays and Chrissy gifts, and an economic climate that is very volatile right now!

I also need to let you know that after much thought and discussion, we have decided to cancel this year’s open house.

I am so sorry, but we will be opening at Etsy Account soon (yay!), and will have our goodies available to buy online! (just in time for Christmas shopping I hope!)

Some of these pretties, and more of these (I don’t have pictures of the wreaths I made that sold out last year, this pic is from here)

There will be something for everyone…from rusty and chipped vintage finds, to handmade Christmas ornaments, and romantic country pieces for the home.

Glass bottles and bits from clearing sales, and always a bit of glitter and bling!

My daughter has braved the Etsy world and has her own store up and running. Check out her cute items here.  *LOVE*

or this

  So CUTE!!!!

 

Blessings,

Shani

xxx

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TO OPEN HOUSE OR NOT TO OPEN HOUSE?

After the success of last year’s open house, we would love to put another show on for you this year. :)

We had so much fun putting it all together, and getting to meet your smiling faces as the doors opened was worth all the hard work.

I’ve been super busy with the women’s event at our church in June, but after that, I can begin to CREATE SOME DELICOUSNESS for you to purchase for Christmas for your friends and family (and yourselves of course!)

My hubby and I are heading to Uganda just after Christmas, leaving our kids in our parents very capable hands, to build the second stage of the hospital for COME Uganda.

 

This is what the team did the first year!

 

So as much as I would love to put on this event, I need to know whether you are interested in coming along!!

Let me know in the comment section with a YES! if you want to feel that

 

Christmas River Love

again late November with our annual open house.

 

Looking forward to hearing from you,

 

Blessings,

Shani

 

(And by the way, we are now on Facebook if you want to go on there and LIKE US! We would love to feel the love!)

To Wreck or Restore?

When you look at this house, what do you see?  Does it look like it’s ready for the wrecking ball, or ready to renovate? Does it speak to you of an exciting opportunity, or look like a painful waste of time?

Would you want to see it fixed up to its former glory, re-worked into a new version of itself, or would knocking it down and re-building on this choice block be more your style?

If you had all the money in the world, would you take it on?

 

 

Over the last 20 years, I have renovated many homes. I delight in the transformation process.

It speaks to me of LIFE…

I need to see ‘the beauty in the every day’ or I shrivel inside.  

I didn’t just want to decorate though, I wanted to create spaces that inspire, nurture and uplift those who live in them, those who visit and those who drive by.

Many times I have questioned why I love something that seems to be a ‘temporary gift’ to the world.  I know I can’t take houses and pretty things with me, and to make idols of them gives me a healthy fear inside of what God might do if I head down that path!!

.

I am in the process of sorting out just what this passion and the gifts that come with it mean for me and how to outwork that in an impacting way.

I have made some progress, and  want you to be the first to preview what we have been working on…..

Still much to be done and months more planning, but we have registered our business and will gain not-for-profit status in the coming weeks.

But what is it you ask?!!!

WeLL, firstly you need to get where we are coming from! This is what the definition of restore means:

re·store

1. to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish:

to restore order.

2. To bring back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting.

3. to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.

4. to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc.: to restore the king to his throne.

5. to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost)

 

Our Mission:

100% of the profits of this business

supports charities

that are actively restoring people’s lives.

We are committed to seeing the fabric of society restored…

…in every way that matters.

Every little bit helps :)

PLACING VALUE UPON HUMANITY

The store supports and aligns with the vision…

to see people restored in every sense of the word ~

physically, emotionally, mentally and

spiritually.

 

And in the most exciting news…..we will be doing it with:

YOUR JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We will take what others throw away, discard, consider worthless….and

repurpose,

UpCycLE

 

and transform

them into pieces you will not be able to resist!!!!!!!!!

(*Photos sourced from web over many years.)

We will share more info as we can, but we are VERY FLIPPING EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort & go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work & risk & by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.

{Alan Alda}

Sharing the Love of Christmas

Thank you EVERYONE, for making the 2010 Open House so much fun! hope you enjoyed yourselves too, and we look forward to sharing many more christmas events with you in the future.

At one stage there, we didn’t think we could fit anyone else in, but as all good shoppers know, get in early and move quickly!

From all of us at Christmas River, THANK  YOU for your support, generosity and sharing in the good times!

If you have any photos from the day, send them to us and we’ll post them on here, or drop us a line and let us know what you thought!

Much love,

Shani x

It’s gonna be a good night, a good good night!

Yippppeeeeee! The day has dawned bright and sunny, the sunrise this morning was majestic in brilliance…pink and apricot blushing across the sky. Thank you for the sunshine, thank you for this day….THIS day that we get to share our home, our life, with YOU!

So looking forward to having you join us…………see you at 4.30!

xx

Rain shall not weary them…

Grey skies are gonna clear up!

In the spirit of the Mighty Anzacs, a little rain ain’t gonna spoil our parade! Even if the skies open up, we will have you warm and dry inside our converted garage barn.

A little bit of the wet stuff won’t deter us!  It’s a great excuse to get out our wellies!

Butt-Sitters Prohibited!

Royal Easter Show prize winners ~ photo by Siannon Parice Photography

There’s been no butt-sitting around this place…busy little elves have been cutting, gluing, wiring, dancing to tunes on our Christmas River compilation CD (which is free to you when you spend over $100 on saturday!), moving furniture, re-moving furniture!, labelling, arranging, and fluffing everything prettily for your viewing pleasure.

We can’t wait to see you on Saturday..>Remember, we open at 4.30 ~ no earlier, no later! 

 *Hint for first-time Christmas River attendees: If you see something you like, grab it and don’t let go. One of our lovely sales attendants will take your goodies for you, have them wrapped and ready for when you have had your fill, and will speed up checkout with your purchases written up and waiting for you.

Ten Lords A-Leaping Days to Go!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, 
 

my true love sent to me 

Luscious soft tabletop trees in hessian wrap

 

 

Twelve drummers drumming, 

(there will be music to soothe your soul, and get your christmas juice pumping!)

  

Eleven pipers piping, 

(sorry, no smoking allowed hehe!)

  

Ten lords a-leaping, 

(Contours is offering a 2 weeks trial membership for only $10 on the day with all proceeds going to MY Place Youth Housing …great opportunity to get your leap on!)

  

Nine ladies dancing, 

  

Tissue paper flowers dancing in the breeze

 

Eight maids a-milking, 

(maybe no milk, but lots of ladies sipping on yummy punch and nibbles)

  

Seven swans a-swimming, 

(take a wander down to our creek and watch the ducks glide by!)

 

Six geese a-laying,

(you can look at our chickens over the orchard fence?!)

 

Five golden rings, 

 

Gorgeous jewelled hair accessories

Four calling birds, 

(that’s us Christmas River girls raring up for a night of hilarity!)

Three French hens,

French inspired homewares

~ most items only 1 or 2 off, so be early!  And when you find what you are looking for, grab it and hold onto it, or it will be gone before you get back to it!!

Remember, 4.30pm opening.

Two turtle doves, 

Peace filled tin doves

And a partridge in a pear tree! 

tree decorations galore

 

See you in ten days!!!!!!!!!!