Domesticali

Fern printing

As soon as I saw the beautiful fern printed tote over at Painted Fish Studio, I knew we would be giving the idea a go. A vest, though slightly unseasonal, seemed the ideal trial item - my boys constantly put theirs on backwards, so a little motif is always helpful.

Like all the greatest ideas, it is so simple, and needs the bare minimum of materials. Jen's tutorial is here. And here's the finished article.

(I made the mistake of asking Mark to pose for me and he took the request very seriously.)

The boys don't wear their vests in the summer generally, unlike my Dad. He favours one of those holey numbers and swears they keep you cool in hot weather by preventing your shirt from sticking to your skin. Luckily, he seems to get his the right way round all by himself, because I don't think fern printing would work so well on a holey vest.

Fuzzy fun

Project ingredients:
One book (on loan from Monica)
Circular needle
Pencils, sharpened at both ends to substitute for DPNs (strangely effective)
Fuzzy wuzzy wool, which makes me think of a favourite childhood poem of mine...

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?

I made a little felted bowl, which just makes me happy.

But it has already been colonized.

So it's a good thing I've made two more. Even if felting them in my machine makes the utility room smell of rank sheep. But that seems a small price to pay. I have visions of a whole rainbow family.

 

Woe betide anyone who fills them with potatoes for chitting though.

Little stamps

Sometimes it feels good to fall back on something familiar.

Particularly when you are nervous about trying something new. I'm casting about for inspiration to prepare for a workshop by Jessie Chorley. The plan is  to make a book based on a personal narrative, but suddenly I seem to be all out of stories. I do have a great deal of old shopping lists though. Do you suppose those might work?

Better keep planning I think.

Some folks seem to have the knack of making something special out of the everyday. Capturing a moment - check out Record the Day and you'll see what I mean. And how about the UK at Home project. Seven days, captured on film and made into a book which somehow captures the essence of home.

The postcard says...

This arrived, a little while ago, with a challenge from five and a half.
It says: Use junk mail, catalogue, old magazines & clean trash. Recreate your face with them (3 - dimensional). Take picture and share with your friends.

So, friends, want to see?

My alter ego is a leftover balloon from Johnny's party. Discarded tissue from a package, magazine cuttings and shredder hair. I loved doing that hair (probably spent more time on it than on my own this morning).

One of my real life friends couldn't understand the project - "But, why?", she asked. But to me, it's obvious - the chance to play is a gift.  If you want to join in, keep an eye on the five and a half blog, because Judy promised a chance for anyone who missed out on getting a postcard to take part too.

And before I head off for an early night, Happy Mothering Sunday  to all you mummies who were celebrating today, but especially to mine, because she's always there for us. And she's really good at playing too.

You say potato, and I say potato

Clothespins? Clothespegs? Whatever you call them, I've had them on my mind of late. Outdoor drying weather is approaching (Alice is obviously a hardier specimen than I am, because she told me her washing was on the line today, but I'm clearly a fair weather pegger).

Up until last spring I was wedded to my tumble drier. I bought it when Mark was born and had fallen deeply for it's rotating charms. But Amy wooed me to the washing line last year and to my surprise, I loved it. The steady rhythm of bend, shake and peg. The smell of the outdoors on your sheets. The few quiet garden moments stolen in the middle of housework. And now, the chance to compose a haiku too.

Because Amy's blog also provided this idea. Some letter stamps, a heat set ink pad and my boring old pegs. Wash day joy. And face it, with boys like mine, every day is wash day round here.

Although some items will still need more gentle handling. The Klaralund  - she's all stitched up, worn in and ready for her first launder.

By the skin of my teeth

The "Simplicity" photo swap deadline really crept up on me and I hate being late, so while the boys took off swimming this afternoon, I got my act together and packaged up my parcel. The photo I chose in the end was this one:

Partly for the way it looks, but partly because I took it when we went 'glamping' and it reminds me of all the advantages of leading a simple life. I hope my partner likes it (can't tell you who she is, because it's a secret!).

I made a book with a sewn binding for her too. Because I am totally smitten with the idea of DIY bookbinding and she was the obvious choice for a guinea-pig.

The title is 'A day of simple pleasures' and the pages are made from envelopes, holding the following series of photos:

A sunrise, sharing breakfast, hand knitted dishcloth, warm socks, a beautiful walk.

If you missed out on this round, Megan is thinking of making the photo swap a regular thing. And you can see some of the great pictures being swapped over at the Flickr group. I love looking at all the different interpretations of simplicity (and wondering which one is destined to be heading my way).

Washing line inspiration

I'm off on an adventure tomorrow. This is all part of the preparation...

1. Washing Line, 2. washing line, 3. washing line, 4. washing on the line-lines in the grass, 5. Washing Line, 6. Stone washing line, 7. washing line, 8. Next doors washing line, 9. the washing line, 10. washing line under a cherry tree

Have a great weekend.

Simplicity

My love affair with Sashiko is an ongoing thing. I think it is something about the simplicity of the most basic of running stitches which appeals to me.

So a little tea towel cafe apron. Nothing fancy. Simple twill ties. Red sashiko style embroidery.

And while we're on the theme of 'Simplicity' - I am taking part in Megan's photo swap. Sign ups are open until Friday. If your resolution for 2008 was something photography related, maybe you'd like to join in?

Ready for the Stork

Given that it takes 9 (10) months to grow a baby, you'd think that getting a little birth gift together wouldn't be that hard. But constantly I find the little darlings emerging from my friends before I have had the chance to produce a suitable welcome present.

However, this time Mr Stork, I have you beaten. A set of rubber stamp-lets for a chum of mine.

Because despite faithfully filling in the baby book with every detail of your precious firstborn's development, subsequent children are lucky if their milestones get recorded at all. At least this way, the 'first steps' scribbled in the corner of the family diary, can be highlighted a little bit. Well, that's the idea anyway. In a pinch, I'm sure elder siblings could use them to amuse themselves doing a spot of DIY tattoo work while Mummy is busy feeding the new arrival.

Preparations 4 - Rubber Stamp

It's been a while since I carved a rubber stamp - I forgot how fun and quick a process it is. The only thing is, I didn't really intend to make Santa look like a wino. Although with HIS to-do list, He'd be forgiven for hitting the bottle at this time of year.



If you want to have a go, here is the tutorial which got me started.
Perhaps I'd better have a cup of tea and re-group. This is my new seasonal favourite - even the box is uplifting.



My photos look pants today - sorry, its just so dark and wet and miserable. Natural light? Chance would be a fine thing.

Preparations 3 - Salt dough

*****Edited to add some important painting info*****

Christmas Fair time rolls round again - next Saturday I'll be up to my eyeballs in some kind of crafty endeavour with a zillion clamouring primary schoolers. Thought we'd have a go at salt dough Christmas ornaments. But a trial run with my resident assistants seemed to be in order.

Recipe: 2 parts flour to 1 part salt. Mix in some warm water to form a dough. Knead for 10 minutes until nice and smooth.

I had anticipated some freehand modelling, but it's harder to do than I had thought. Not sure the under 10 crowd would be too impressed, but my testers perked up when we broke out the Christmassy cutters. My inability to see a cute cutter without wanting buying it evidently has it's up sides!

I have a whole batch drying, so the punters on Saturday can paint one ready formed ornament and model one of their own to dry and decorate at home.

But I'm going to need a vat of hand cream afterwards, because a couple of hours dealing with desiccating effects of the dough has left me with lizard hands. Ick.

*** A couple of folks asked about painting these. I had planned to use Acrylics, but BIG word of warning - they don't work very well. I found out (luckily the night before the fair) that tempera/poster paints work much much better. Apologies for misleading you (and for raiding my boys' paint box)*****

Random acts of total stupidity

We all know what today is don't we? I baked the pumpkin muffins (Amy's yummy recipe).

I consulted with the boys and translated their designs into pumpkin form.

We dressed up and hit the neighbourhood for trick-or-treating. And we returned home to find this on our doorstep.

What kind of genius courier thinks leaving a glass aquarium on the front doorstep of a pumpkin lit abode at 6pm on Halloween is a sensible idea? Miraculously it seems unscathed. Thank you pumpkin gods. Our incredibly fast growing goldfish will be eternally grateful.

And thank you all for your sympathetic response to my whining last post. When we were going through Mark's assessment, some kindly professional asked me if I had any support. I don't think she knows about the force that is craft-bloggers.

Whooooooo

Halloween preparations in full swing here this weekend.


Cute skeleton cut outs from Sewing Stars. Oops, he seems to have lost a leg.

And white chocolate ghosts courtesy of Martha Stewart. These look really impressive, but are dead easy to make. I don't know if my white chocolate got too warm to set hard again, because the lollies are great straight from the fridge, but a bit on the bendy side at room temperature. Any chocolate melting experts out there?

Clocks went back today - our first dark evening of the year. We have a family movie night planned, so I need to go and make popcorn. They rented 'Garfield - the movie'. I do not have high hopes.

It’s a beautiful day-hay-hay

Feeling the Friday joy today. Partly about the lovely goodies which landed on my doorstep from Jen of Swallowfield. I have a quick visit to get some frames for the gorgeous prints (yes, plural) she sent me - my favourite of all is called 'I feel lucky'.



It's very appropriate, since my lucky number is indeed 13 and I came to own it via good fortune in a generous giveaway. If you need a little luck of your own, pop over to etsy.

The colours are reminding me of a little project of my own I've been getting underway this morning.

Inside these babies is a cat toy. Yup - one of those jingle bell inside a plastic mesh ball thingummies. Which should mean I have just made a jingling Christmas decoration. We're still at prototype phase, but I did pick up a good few handfuls of the cat toys at the scrapstore when I last visited. There may be more to come. I love the idea of re-purposed ornaments on our tree this year.

Although perhaps not next week, because it is half term. Which is great in that the level of badgering required to get everyone out of the house on time goes down, but there isn't exactly much free time to spare either. Although perhaps papier mache might just be a great project for the boys. If I can handle the mess.

Dishcloth induced debate

The siren call of a new challenge is something I find irresistible, so I was delighted when recently Louise sent me yarn, needles and a selection of patterns for knitted dishcloths. I'm a very beginner in the knitting game, but there's nothing I like better than a challenge. So I was happily partaking of this little crafting treat when the following conversation happened:

Hubby: Why are you doing that?
Me: It's that dishcloth kit I showed you.
Hubby: No, I mean knitting.
Me: Eh?
Hubby: Well, it's just not sexy is it.

Clearly the whole 'pinny porn' debate has passed over his head. You can hear the start of it on this podcast.


Don't worry, I shall punish him for heretical thoughts, by making him apply said dishcloth to the dishes for the foreseeable future. Actually, on second thoughts, it may be too good to waste on him.


He's worried about hate-mail, but it looks like he's not the only doubting Thomas. And I'm getting my own back on Sunday when I am escaping for the whole day for some knitting and stitching goodness at Alexandra Palace. And guess who's looking after the boys! Have a great weekend.

Posh jellies

When I am my foulest, most screamy self, I forget just how easy it is to please my boys. Behold the favourite dessert of the moment:



Mandarin orange segments straight from the tin, suspended in lurid tangerine jelly.

"Oh Mummy - posh jellies!"

Sometimes, I am just so classy.

Oh and you know Martha's top idea for leaves dipped in wax - if you were thinking of trying it, you may want to reconsider. After a week and a half, ours have turned black and started to go stinky. Not really the aspect of autumn I was hoping to capture.

And… exhale

Coming back down to earth after a busy build up to Saturday's craft fair. It was a pretty low key event, but I like to do it because it's local. Even if sales aren't huge.

It went okay, although I did have some funny comments. One woman looked at my grocery bags and said to me - 'No, I don't like those at all'. Oooookay, I can take criticism. And a lovely man, who looked very intently at everything and then said 'You certainly have some very unusual items'. Thanks, I think.

But it was Johnny who made me laugh. He walked into the hall and up to my table, then said very seriously 'Mama, those tings are just like yours'. Sweet boy.

I am all excited now though to get on with things I have been putting off until after the fair. I don't think I am really cut out for making things to sell. Somehow, they don't seem to contain the soul that an item does when you're making it with someone in mind.

So here's to 'items with soul' and a large glass of wine and veg on the sofa sort of evening. Sundays - you've got to love them.

How to make a ghostie lolly

When you see how simple these are to make, you'll laugh at me for doing a tutorial on them. But you did ask! Now get the kids busy before Halloween. You'll need a round lollipop, a couple of tissues, some wool (or thread or string), scissors and a marker pen.

First lay out the tissues, overlapping as shown. Plonk your lolly down in the centre.

Gather the tissues round the lolly stick and tie at the base with the wool.


Trim the ends nice and short so they disappear.

Draw on a ghostly face with your marker. In our household, we lack artistic talent, so we go for the Munch-esque silent scream.

Now you're all set to frighten/delight your trick or treaters.

Ooh, that was my first tutorial I think! Do I get a badge?

Swap has landed

Phew, the Back To School swap parcel for Heidi at Friday Prize has landed! So finally I get to blab about the contents. It's the hardest part of swapping for me - keeping a lid on it so as not to spoil the surprise.

But as usual, I neglected to take a decent picture of the contents all together. I am always so excited to get my parcels sent off that I forget all about that part. Hopeless.

The thing I had most fun with was the artsy clutch from Bend the Rules Sewing. I did some sashiko style ripples and embroidered goldfish on the outside and found a ripple effect cotton for the lining. I was so so pleased with how it turned out that I think I need to make another one. Pure fun.

Have a great weekend - we're off to the Newbury Show. They have the JCB Dancing Diggers. How could we not?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFBAzRc5vXE]

Recycled notebook

There's something very therapeutic about the 'position swish remove' cycle of my little paper trimmer. This weekend I've put it to good use recycling odds and ends for a little handmade notebook.

It's got some redundant computer print out, reversed kiddy scribbles, yellow legal pad, hotel notelets, envelope interiors and anything else suitable I laid hands on as I sorted through our paperwork this weekend.

Cover is a vintage effect postcard from Northlight and know-how is courtesy of a great tutorial over at Five and a Half. Lists could be a great deal more fun round here for a while.

K is for… Knitting

If you've been round these parts for a while, you might remember my efforts to learn how to knit. I wanted to make some little Christmas stockings, but they proved too ambitious and I am ashamed to admit that I gave up. Months later though, I did buy a copy of 'Kids learn to knit' - a wonderful little book pitched at 6 to 9 year olds. Spot on for my levels of patience.

I don't know what made me pick it up tonight - perhaps for a bit of mindless yet absorbing activity. I had a phone call today giving me a date for Mark's multidisciplinary assessment at the hospital and for some reason, it's sent me into a bit of a tailspin. I need distraction.

Funny thing is, both boys wanted to knit too. So with one 'knit stick' and some 'string' each and no idea, they began. And so did I, only I did have two sticks and some gorgeous alpaca that Tasha gave me ages ago. Hey, I may be a novice, but it doesn't mean I have to use bad yarn right?!

I'm planning on a Hooting Henry - hoping he comes with extra wisdom.

Rainforest visiting

Little excursion today to the Living Rainforest. It's a great favourite of ours - not big, not flashy, but a lot of fun creeping round the glasshouses and spotting amazing plants, butterflies, birds and the odd monkey, spider and snake.

It was also a special clay animal workshop day.

Here's a yellow toed tortoise (who has to dry before his toes can be painted)

A scorpion

And a dwarf crocodile.

Oh yes, I think I had as much if not more fun than the kids.

Tomorrow we have to do the supermarket and haircuts. I'm not predicting quite so much fun.

Believe to be beautiful or know to be useful

One thing I've learned from my pottery class is patience - it really is a slow business. I have been going since January and have so far managed to bring home only one piece. But all that changed last night because a whole load of my stuff came out of the kiln.

These little chaps were inspired by some Matthew Mead paper doves which I saw over at The Felt Mouse last Christmas. Told you pottery took time - six months from idea to completion must be some kind of slow crafting record.

And it is a lot harder than it looks too. I'm not happy with any of the glazes on my stuff - too milky looking, too uneven, pock marks from bubbles, not the colour I was expecting. But I'm trying to love the imperfections. They're what makes things unique.

My six year old has been appreciating my unique qualities too.

Mark: " I love you Mummy"
Me: "Oh, why's that?"
Mark: "You know how to cook my favourite food. You're very useful"

Crafty rut

Maybe it's the countdown to the beginning of the summer holidays, but I've been feeling very antsy of late and not at all inspired to do much in the way of craft. Part of it has been lack of time, but I also think that crafting (and blogging) is a habit. When I get out of the swing of doing either, it's quite hard to begin again.

But today I decided to give myself a bit of a shove. I had a make something moment, anything, but it had to be quick, because between chores and collecting Johnny from school, there was only three quarters of an hour and I wanted a coffee too. So I whipped out my rubber stamp carving stuff and made a little envelope stamp. My return addresses will be so much cuter for it.

And d'you know what? It worked.Because over Johnny's veg-in-front-of-the-box hour (my answer for over a year to no nap) I made a little tote too.

Tasha sent me this fabric a while ago now, and it was beginning to look at me in an accusing fashion. The bag pattern was from Eco-bag - a Japanese craft book I have been trying a couple of patterns from. I quite like this style, but the pink fabric is linen and is a bit too floppy to be a truly successful tote. It does feel nice though. And I made French Seams. Fancy.

One of the things I love about you blog readers is your ability to get enthusiastic about the things that get me excited. Thank you so much for all the good wishes on the 'birdhouse' day.

But for the record, this is no birdhouse. Oh no, it's a veritable bird palace, a dovecote.

And I am still flabbergasted that I built it from a pile of planks. Although I know I did, because I still ache in places that I didn't know I had muscles. Because that sucker took a lot of hand sawing.

Paulus and his wife Jane run a whole series of courses out of this beautiful sandstone barn. I think I'm going to ask for one for every birthday and Christmas present from now on!

It was amazing to loose myself for a whole day, totally absorbed in the moment. And someone else bustling about bringing me tea, homemade cake and biccies, and serving me a wonderful home-cooked lunch in the garden.

Now I think I am going to paint my dovecote white and I have the perfect spot in the garden planned for it. But any local doves (or pigeons more likely) are going to be sorely disappointed, because my house is cunningly designed to be too narrow for them to roost in.

What? Did you think after all that work that I was going to let some birdie take up residence and crap all over it?

Off on an adventure

I'm not really here, I'm here - off on a little adventure and hopefully returning home with one of these.


Only one that's been made by moi. I've never done any woodwork before, but I'm always up for a challenge!

Today has been a day for tidying up loose ends. I have been feeling really frustrated about my inability to get anything done round here.

I get 4 child-free hours during the week and recently, I've been wasting those grocery shopping, cleaning, doing laundry and a hundred and one other trivial household things. Today I decided to prioritise the things I really wanted to do instead.

So, took some photos of lovely buttons from Paula of Simple me and sent her a thank-you e-mail.

Can you ever imagine wanting to part with a stash like this? But I am so glad she did - thank you Paula. I plan to put them to very good use.

Started (and finished - it's a miracle!) a very overdue bag that my Mum picked the fabric out for months and months ago.

It's a Tiny Happy model. Is there anyone out there left who hasn't made at least one of these? They are just so fabulous.

Got those infernal dice out of my house and into school for the May Ball.
Oh and I managed to sneak out of being on the PTA any more. Yippee - you have no idea how happy I feel about this. It's not that I mind helping out, it's those 3 hour meetings which suck every ounce of good temper out of me that I object to.

And took some gratuitous photos - something I haven't done in a very long time.

So the house is a sty and I've got a mountain of laundry piled up waiting to be put away. But I do feel better, much better. We all need to prioritise 'want-to-do' over 'need-to-do' once in a while.

Kerplunked!

Last night I had big plans for dinner. The nights when both hubby and I are at home seem few and far between these days, so when I realised that we could actually sit down together and enjoy a leisurely meal, I thought I'd try something new. Braised lamb shanks (from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries).

They looked promising going into the oven. Smelled delicious while cooking too. But at the crucial moment when I should have been topping them up with a bit more liquid, I got waylaid by a KerPlunk tournament that I HAD to win. Disaster. Cunningly disguised the slightly singed taste of the gravy with a big dollop of redcurrant jelly and poured plenty of pre-dinner vino (makes all culinary disasters better). I must curb that competitive streak - Mark won anyway.

And dinner tonight? The new season's asparagus, fresh from the farm. And practically impossible to burn.

Keeping it fresh in my first pottery effort- fired at last! I know it looks like a 3 year old made it, but I'm just learning okay? The only way is up!

Egg box recycling

Ever since I saw the cute little Marie Claire Idees egg carton sewing box, I've wanted to make one. I don't need one, I probably wouldn't use one, but I had a burning desire to have a go at creating one. Then it dawned on me. Wouldn't it make the perfect packaging for the Vintage Button Swap Deux? Look away Ines!

What a great reason to have a go. And what fun! Finding the perfect lace trim, picking through my button box, making a little pincushion to fit in the hole. Pure fun!



And when my fabulous charity shop working mother turned up at Easter with this box of beauties, I just knew one of those reels belonged in there too. Oh the sheen, it makes me quite weak kneed.



I got so excited about the whole thing, that I've packaged it all up ready to post tomorrow without taking a picture of the buttons - dingbat! But as all children know, sometimes the packaging is the best bit!

And Mark's hearing test? Ears like a bat - told you so.

You’ve got to roll with it

The school PTA is hosting a Ball next month with a black and white/casino theme going on. Yours truly opened her big mouth at the wrong moment and has been roped into making table favours.



Seeing many spots before my eyes (and all over the living room floor). I've even roped hubby in to help, because there are a LOT of these to churn out. I'm not really that keen on them, but we had the little boxes donated to us and so I really needed to use them (in spite of the weird ribbon thing going on). Perhaps people will drink so much they fail to notice and we will make heaps of money.


And I've got a new blog for you to check out - Lululollylegs. We met as miniswap 2 partners and I couldn't believe someone as talented as Louise didn't have a blog. But now she does, and we all know how nice it is to get a warm reception in blogland so drop by and say hi!