Saturday, April 30, 2011

Let there be cake


...and lots of it.

Chocolate, of course.


Oh, and if you're looking for a lovely outing today, why not visit the Made'n'Thornbury Market. I know a couple of lovely ladies will be there!

Friday, April 29, 2011

I'm Ready...


I spent lastnight sitting on the couch creating this lovely weddingy (not sure if that's actually a word) wire and plastic bead tiara...


Now I'm all frocked up in my op-shopped dress, and ready to go.

Just where did I leave my invitation?

It's the biggest event of the year!

Supermarket Cake, Betty Crocker Frosting, and Hundreds & Thousands

It's my birthday..... and apparently there's some other event happening today which has transfixed the attention of the entire world.

Did someone say Royal Wedding???

Prince Moo Moo (after cake) and Princess CurlyPops

I had a little early birthday celebration on Tuesday while my mum was visiting (not that I actually need an excuse to eat chocolate cake)!

The Royal Subjects

The Royal Subjects were disinterested in the pomp and ceremony of the occassion. They were only there for the cake.


The Royal kiss was thwarted by a rascally Prince Moo Moo.... he was more interested in a second helping of the chocolate cake too.

Let's hope Wills and Kate are more successful tonight!

*The crown partyhats were actually completely unintentional - they just happened to be the only ones in the supermarket on Tuesday!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Making a tablecloth out of an errrrrrrr..... tablecloth?


I had a major dilemma over the long weekend (because craft is really truly important you know)....

I needed to whip up a super-quick no fuss fitted tablecloth, to fit over the coffee table that sits under my cabinet at Big House Collective.

I stood in front of my fabric stash for a while, and then glanced at the stack of vintage tablecloths and had one of those AHA moments (with apologies to all the Oprah fans in the audience).

Why not use a tablecloth to make a tablecloth... intelligent yes?

It's currently being modelled by a table which is completely the wrong size, but I hope you get the basic idea.

After I was all finished, I was then hit with a second dilemma, initiated by my hoarding gene.

There were small offcuts.... of vintage tablecloth.... I couldn't possibly throw them away....


So the coffee table now has a matching sunnies case.... just in case it's sunny?

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Here's Humphrey


Lauren sent me a request last week, to see whether I could put a little tie applique on a t-shirt for her bubba who has just turned one!



He's having a birthday party this coming weekend with a The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.


In the absence of any humans (or mannequins of the correct size) to model the finished product, Humphrey B Bear volunteered to step in.

After all, he gets a bit chilly sometimes..... considering that he has no pants.


Humphrey B Bear has been with me since the 1970's (as you can probably tell from the state that he's in). That rock hard plastic yellow hat caused many injuries over the years. His little pocket hankie is hanging on for dear life.

I suppose it's inevitable considering that he's moved house with me at least twenty times over the years.


I made a little cardboard template for the tie, so I thought I'd share it just in case anyone else wanted to whip up a quick appliqued tee.


If you right click and save the image above - it's an A4 landscape scan. So basically, the tie is the height of an A4 sheet of paper.


Or you can use this one that has measurements.

My template suited a Size 1 tee. If you'd like a smaller applique, just reduce the size, or for larger increase the size.

Have fun!

Monday, April 25, 2011

A visit to the Big House



On Saturday, I took a quick day trip to Ballarat to visit my little sister and check out the new business that she has joined - Big House Collective.


The front counter - the pigeon holes are amazing!


It's a beautiful big 100 year old double storey house on Sturt St, filled to the brim with vintage goods, collectibles, furniture, bric-a-brac, clothing, and handmade goodies.


This is my sisters business banner (designed by me)!


These shelves were originally in my garage. Now that they're painted white, I think I want them back....


My little cabinet in the front room. My mission today is to make a little tablecloth to cover the coffee table at the bottom.


I love this groovy table and chairs (if only I had a bigger house).


Be still my beating heart..... upstairs are the vintage dresses


I was very restrained, but I did make a couple of purchases, including this lovely wooden paper sorter above (sorry about the blurry pic).

The Big House is at 614 Sturt St. They're open every day from 10AM (except today from 12PM).

Big House Collective Blog
Big House Collective on Facebook

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter


Happy Easter to one and all!

Maybe I should have made them some bunny ears???

* BTW that's a horse.... just in case you were thinking that it was a multi-storey motor car garage.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Put A Bird On It


I was sitting at the kitchen bench yesterday making some new brooches and sifting through my button collection......


....and as soon as I found this one, of course, this was what immediately sprang to mind!


These new brooches have a multi-purpose finding so that they can be used as a brooch, or a hairclip, or whatever you like really.


This current lot of brooches will be available for sale (except for the one that I've snaffled for myself) over at my facebook page until Tuesday night.

If you're interested, please leave a comment under the photo of the front view of the brooch.

Rolling Along - Part Two


When I posted Rolling Along - Part One, I also promised that there'd be a part two in the not-too-distant future!


I like this one better (of course), just because it's pink and orange.


More stitching along the lines..... using my owl fabric.

I hope Charlotte and Flynn love them!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Grand Designs....of sorts (with apologies to Kevin McCloud)

 In the car on the morning of his surgery

Have I blogged about the saga of poor litle Mr Limpy Houdini Bucket Head Dog?

It's been going on for soooo long now that I can't even remember, but I've managed to create a photologue on my mobile phone while keeping the family up to date on his progress, so I thought I'd share!

Anyhow, a couple of months ago, he managed to injure his knee (goodness only knows how considering he spends 99% of his time on the couch or snuggled up in his bed).

I took him to the vet, and we tried anti-inflammatories and weekly arthritis injections, but it didn't get any better.

He was still limping around on three legs after four weeks of treatment, so the vet decided that he needed a knee re-construction.

I love this photo (taken on my mobile phone in the vet carpark) - Mr Limpy and Ms Wheezy.
The sun was so bright that I couldn't actually see the shadows on the photo until I came inside.

He had surgery, and stayed in hospital for a couple of nights so that they could keep him confined in a small space..... and then poor Mr Limpy came home with a giant bucket on his head!

He couldn't jump onto the couch anymore, so he and his granny blankie were banished to the floor.


I seriously considered sewing a fabric cover for that ugly plastic bucket, but I feared that if I took it off for long enough to make a pattern, he'd be sure to chew his stitches, and end up back at the vets.


Last week, he was finally able to take out the stitches and take off the bucket.... which meant that I was back to having the dilemma of trying to stop him from attempting to jump on the couch, as the vet said that this might put extra strain on his other joints.

Since my nephews attempt at making a stairway using cushions, I've been thinking about types of ramps.

I joined in with Bec and Brianna's op shopping expedition after work on Wednesday, and they mentioned that they'd seen a foam triangle cushion at the oppy that could be used as a ramp. The oppy wanted $25!!! That's highway robbery.. sheesh!

But while driving home, I had a Grand Design brainwave (it doesn't happen often, but it does happen).


Do you remember my brooch stand?

Petals...


This week has been all about nightimes on the couch..... and flower petals


Although all of the fabrics are pre-prepared on the sewing machine, the familiar routine of cutting petal after petal after petal is quite relaxing, and oddly therapeutic after a busy day.



I'm looking forward to transforming them into brooches over the easter weekend....

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Rolling along - part one


There's been quite a lot of little bits of crafting going on around here lately. Jumping from one project to another before finishing the first one has become 'the norm', hence all the blog posting in parts!


So this is part one of the latest request from one of my girlfriends. She needs a texta roll each for her niece and nephew, with twenty pockets for textas.

I'd never used my own fabric designs for these before, but just look at how perfect they are for the job.....


....you just stitch along the lines.

Next texta roll coming soon...

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

How do you solve a problem like...



Problem: When you have a laptop bag made specifically to fit your laptop, where on earth do you store your charger and wireless mouse?


Solution: You make a matching pouch that can attach to the ring on the bag strap.

I made this bag for a friends daughter for christmas, but she didn't have anywhere to store her charger and wireless mouse when travelling.


I used a 115mm flex frame, and made it long enough for the cord (sunnies pouch gives a comparison of size).

By making it detachable, it's gives her much more freedom to just unclip it and leave it behind if she doesn't need to take it with her.... and the best bit is that it matches perfectly!

Monday, April 18, 2011

An Easter Reminder


Amy reminded me tonight that she has booked to donate blood again this week, so I thought it was the perfect time to remind everyone else as well.

Easter is an extremely busy time for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. Lots of regular donors go away on holidays, and there are many more accidents on our roads. Each week, more than 27.000 donations are required to help patients in need.

You can read about why I need donated blood here.

Check the Easter opening hours here.

Although you can book online, this only allows you to book for an appointment in six days time. If you wish to donate prior to Easter, please call 131495.

PS - The ARCBS has many more permanent donation centres running recently, so it's definitely worth checking whether there is a new one near you!

Belting - Part Two


Belting - Part One
Belting - Part Three

I'll stop confusing everyone now. This is the finale of the Belt posts for a little while!


I seem to be getting more forgetful by the day.... so I completely forgot to take photos of the pirate belt before I gave it to Cathie.


But the best news is that Cathie is a super talented photographer, and she makes my crafty goodies look ever so much better!

PS - Thanks so much to everyone who shared the post about Nikki's Stolen Handbag via Blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc. With any luck, the person responsible might feel regretful and decide to post it back to Nikki.
The address details are here on Nikki's website.

The response has been absolutely tremendous. I'm sure that everyone in the craft community will be keeping an eye out for it from now on!