My (not so) creative space

So the past two weeks have been pretty uneventful in the crafting department. This is due to some hideous virus infecting mainly my head resulting in lots of naps on the couch and a husband home on carers leave for 5 days. It is by far the worst head cold I've had and thats saying alot because I suffer from sinusitis atleast 3-4 times a year.

I am somewhat back in the land of the living, hubby has returned to his normal line of work and things are getting back to normal (well our kind of normal anyway).

The only handmade item i've made in the past two weeks is this t-shirt.

Miss G appears not to have any eyebrows but I can assure you they are there... somewhere...

During the process of making this t-shirt I questioned myself several times... why the hell am I putting myself through this when I can go down to Big W and buy one for $4!?!! The answer... I love the ruffle sleeves. The pattern is from Ottobre Design (issue 3/2010), a Finnish sewing magazine I picked up at a craft fair last year some time. It was pretty straight forward but the pattern was cut for Miss A (2 year old) and its just slightly big for Miss G (4 year old). Maybe my girls aren't as big as Finnish kids?

The neck doesn't sit properly because I cut the material the wrong way (again trying out my way rather than following the pattern) and the ruffles, for some reason, arent as ruffly as those in the picture but what the hey... i made a t-shirt. Overall it was fun to make and I can now say yes, I have made a t-shirt.

Definitely too big for Miss A (seen here showing you where her nose is located... messy substance on face is the remains of a honey toast breakfast).

When I wasn't slowly dying on the couch, I decided to try a cool idea (which I found on a website which I was totally was going to credit but now cant remember for the life of me what its called) for painting with very watery tempera paint. Pop the paint in some containers, put some paper in flat cooking trays, give them some spoons and away they go. My girls love anything to do with painting and will paint with anything.. so long as its messy (think flour whilst making dough, chalk mixed with a)water or if water not available b) spit, water, dirt, gravel, sand that's escaped the sandpit, squished food etc). But I digress.

Here is how it started. Really fun and they loved getting the paint to run this way and that.

Miss A really got into it.

Miss G loving the idea but exploring different ways of making it totally messy.

Then mummy (I blame it on the nurofen) got a crazy idea to use the huge box from a recently unpacked (but not recently purchased) ikea shelving unit. And here people is the anarchy that resulted:

Yes thats right, pants off, paint tipping, body painting madness.... but the kids had fun.

For creative spaces with alittle more creativity, visit

Kootoyoo

Hope you're having a great week.

To market to market

How did the month of September pass so quickly???! As you can tell, I've been fairly quiet on the blog front. The madness of September parties are finally coming to a close. Its been fun though and the girls have really enjoyed getting out to different places for the celebrations.


Another spaceship cushion, this time changing the colour of the spaceship and letters. This little boy's mum tells me that he loves it and takes it everywhere with him. Im so happy that the kids that have recieved these gifts really treasure them.


Twirly skirt for my gorgeous niece.


Letter T cushion. The material used on the side of the cushion is yellow and sparkly. Perfect for a (now) 6 year old.

I have signed myself up for two local fetes, one happening in 2 weeks time and one in mid-November. Im not sure how Im going to get enough stock for the one in two weeks. Its awfully close and I've made very little headway. Mum has promised to come around and (yet again) help with the sewing. Im so thankful for all my mum's help.

Here are a few pencil and drawing pad folders I've made specifically for the fetes. My original template has been claimed by Miss G who likes to write notes to her friends whilst in the car :)




Thats all from me for now. Im back into the sewing room frantically cutting and sewing. Wish me luck!

Colours

Thanks to all that left comments about the quilt fail the other day. Even thought all your comments were positive, Ive decided to start again. I'll chalk it up a learning experience and try again. Ive also consulted the numerous quilting magazines that Ive either bought or have had handed down to me and now can see the error of my ways. Too many colours. I'll keep to 3-4 colours and take it from there.

The birthday boy was one today but I didnt go empty handed. I decided that the flags I'd made (especially the Australian one) had way too much work on it to put it aside so I've whipped up some cushion covers. I like the way they've turned out. My colour scheme for the next quilt will be along the lines of the cushions so when they are out on the floor or bed together, they match. Here is a quick peek:

In other news, the girls and I were doing some beading yesterday morning and baby A started this colour combination:

Well she began with the blue, bright pink and red and I continued with the other colours. I think I'll have to make a quilt using these colours one day soon. They make me happy. It occured to me that these (many) beads were a good way of testing what colours worked together, so while the girls beaded,

so did I.

Hope your weekend is going well.

Angering the pinning gods

Ive been working on my brown / green / blue quilt and managed to get to the point where I start sewing large strips together. Being lazy, I decided to bypass the pinning process and get straight to sewing. I matched them nicely and stitched one continuous line to the end of the strips. And then I see this:

Why?! So, me being alittle on the stubborn side sew two more strips together. I figure ive just lined them up wrong. Nope, another uneven join. Ok Ok I'll pin them and I get an almost perfect match at the bottom.


So then I have to do this, my most hated task in sewing.

Cant figure out why though. I matched them up perfectly and yet they come together uneven. Obviously Ive angered the pinning gods.

Snail mail rocks
Recently I participated in a fabric swap. This is where you email your name to some unknown person and that someone somewhere in internet land sends you back the names of others who want to swap fabric too. It was fun, and I cant wait to see what the others have sent me. I have received one parcel (thanks Tara) with this inside:

What to do with this beautiful fabric.... I decided to use it on a notebook my sister had asked me to cover. Now some of the fabric looks like this:

I think its purdy :)

One mans trash
We currently have a hard waste collection going on ... well its not due to come around for another week but people are putting their items out. This morning, as we drove out to take the kids to the zoo this is what I saw across the road:

They need alittle TLC as they are alittle tarnished but with a good polish and re-upholstering of the cushions (they STINK of cigarette smoke) they will be ready for the girls rooms. Now all I have to do is thrift little dressing tables that match!

Last but not least..

A little card made for a lovely friend


Miss G was sick and unable to go swimming so while baby A and daddy went, we did some magic wand conjuring :)

Have a great week!