Looking forward to the holidays

I have been scrapbooking our holidays photos from last April (better late than never!) and am looking forward to a week at the beach in a few weeks.

I haven't been posting much lately, at our school fete two weeks ago we had our camera "lost" ie it fell out of Steve's pocket while he was helping pack some chairs away and someone has picked it up and kept it. It makes me upset to think that someone somewhere now has our camera but not the charger ... so our camera is sitting useless in someone's home, or it has been sold by now. Anyway during the week we bought an identical camera so now we can forget that little incident. We are so thankful that Emily's glasses turned up the week before, they are essential and a camera is not ... exactly .... but it is nice to feel like I can just take more pictures now and blog them!

A Cardmaking morning

At craft this morning I made cards for our school fete on Saturday. I stuck with a navy blue background to keep things simple and provide some unity as a set of cards on the stall, rather than random uncoordinating cards.

Not that I will get to see the craft stall, my job is to run the wristband and ticket sales for the rides, and that is a HUGE responsibility on the day.
Oh, and help my Recorder Group perform at lunchtime. I'd better not forget that!

Birds in the Bedroom

I got so tired of seeing expensive lazer-cut bird silhouettes in magazines, and thinking "I could do that" ... that I finally did.

I printed out some bird shapes from Microsoft Clipart and used them as templates to cut out birds out of dark bronze shimmer paper. Then I blu-tacked them to the wall. It only took about 30 minutes and that night Steve came home from a gig to find a flock of swallows over the bed.

Trustworthy

It's good to know that Emily and Steve can be trusted to find exactly what is needed in an op-shop.

Emily had to have a blood test so they turned the outing into a daddy-daughter date, with op-shopping and morning tea at a cafe.

This is what they came home with (well, in addition to a half-sipped iced white chocolate) :

5 paperbacks for the girls to read

1 pocket dictionary - Emily needed one for school and this one has character - someone has been covered in text and photo paper and the edges coloured with black texta - very cool and it won't be confused with others in the classroom - just $1.50

1 very mini German/English dictionary. The perfect size for Chilli.

What a Week!

Thanks to the school where I work holding two other events this week, I have had 2 DAYS OFF!!! Plus some other cancellations meant a very empty week. So at last it was worth setting up a trestle table in the living room for some sewing!


What a relief to finish off some projects that have been on my mind for ages, and what fun to start and finish some new projects in just one week. Normally the sewing machine has to go on the dining table which means packing up before school finishes.

What I have made this week:

1. Finished off a needlebook for a friend (ok it wasn't made with the sewing machine but couldn't be finished till I went through EVERY box of fabric I own to find that piece of wool blanketing to stop the needles from rusting)




2. Made a gift for a new baby at church - a bag in cute fairy fabric with a felt bunny (pattern here)


3. Then another baby girl was born so I made another bag, this one more bunny-sized and I have cut out a second bunny to stitch.

4. A little drawstring bag for my mp3.

5. Two nights ago this Tone Finnanger book arrived from Amazon

and I was seriously inspired, especially by this

so I put this together yesterday. I sewed happily inside while outside the rain poured down, and felt sorry thoughts for my daughters outside at their school swimming carnival!





The colours don't look so great in the photo but I think it will have a nice vintage feel. In the book the reverse applique method is used to make the pictures, but after failing a heart in this method I am thinking of embroidering the designs rather than appliqueing. Maybe it will hang in the hall ... hmmm it will have to since every other wall is covered already. (some by windows LOL don't imagine our house is completely covered with pictures or anything!)



6. This morning a new friend came over and we did some stamping:

taken from this idea and made a few other cute cards.

Plus ...


- shortened and removed blockout lining from girls' curtains


- adjusted maternity-lookalike top


- sorted through all fabric


- quilted more of the Vinnies quilt (story to come)


- chose fabric for a quilt for a workshop


- and bought this - not sure what to make it into yet.






And not only did I craft but this morning I cooked dinner for us and another family, cooked lunch in case my friend stayed, hung out washing AND walked the girls to school all before 10.00am. Unheard of.

Oh the things I could do if I didn't work. But would I keep it up? Or is this the momentum of knowing that it is only for this week?

Finished!

At last today I have gotten my sewing machine out. In fact not just the sewing machine but a whole trestle table for a week of sewing! Today I have a day off, and Friday also, so am hoping to get lots done.

It is very satisfying to finish this project, a little ironing bag with a vintage embroidery design. Why (you may ask) did I bother to go to all that trouble to make an ironing bag of all things???

Because:

a) I have been wanting to make a little bag to hold the water cup, the lint brush thingy and a teatowel to test for a clean iron, because otherwise they get lost in the broom cupboard

b) I have decided that from now on all my craft must be functional - no more knick-knacks which just sit around collecting dust because there are no more walls or surfaces for them

c) I have also decided that the functional must be beautiful. Or at least aesthetically pleasing to me if no one else!

Other projects for this week:

- adjust a cute shirt which makes me look pregnant so that I don't look so pregnant

- choose fabrics for a quilt workshop

- maybe sew a gift for a baby at church

- make another bag in pinky-beige vintagey colours

So I'd better stop blogging and get on with it!

Second-hand Sunshine

Yesterday I went to Vinnies and found these:

The set includes

coffee pot

creamer

sugar bowl minus lid

5 cups

6 saucers

and cost just $8.00

I tried to leave them in the shop, because really while I love that 60s/70s look it just isn't really us, but those yellow flowers kept calling me, so I bought them.


Then I went back an hour later because I realised that the yellow placemats I had almost bought the first time would actually match. As does our yellow teapot (which is just as well since I don't even drink coffee!)

This was my other bargain - today at a $2.00 shop I found these for just 80c each, and am hoping they will work well with felt, also the girls can use them more easily than stranded cotton.

My other fun thing yesterday and today was to make this bracelet, my first try at a charm-style bracelet using chain rather than wire. I'm happy with it and wore it today but it needs more charms, especially near the clasp.

For afternoon tea just now we have enjoyed "Coconut Ice Cupcakes" topped with coconutty icing. Laura did a lot of the baking. Too yummy!