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Thursday, September 29, 2011

My Creative Space


This week we are on school holidays. In between keeping kids busy/entertained I have been working on stock for my first market which is now only a month away!

As I say those words out loud I feel the panic in the pit of my stomach. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? I also have a list of Christmas gifts and items that I need to make for family and friends! I just need to stay focused and disciplined, right? Right:)

As I am not a one-at-a-time-project kinda person, I have been working on a variety of projects, including bunting, felt food, Christmas decorations, fabric headbands and cards! One of the projects I have enjoyed the most though, is making bias tape.

The last time I made bias tape was about 25 years ago (for a Laura Ashley pattern dress I made for a family wedding - am I dating myself?:) I don't know why it's been so long, because it was really easy and very satisfying as a project. I used the needle in the ironing board method, which is a little bit fiddly, but it worked surprisingly well. The best thing about it was how the bias tape felt - so much better than the stuff you buy! I made it to use on some Christmas buntings I have been making for the market. Not sure I ever want to buy bias tape again:)

I hope you have been getting lots done in your space this week. For more lovely spaces make sure you visit here. Cyndy Pin It

Monday, September 26, 2011

My First Crafty Swap - My Sunshine in the Mail


It's a little bit late, but I am finally sharing what I received in my first crafty swap, the Snail Mail Swap organized by Sheree at Seaweed and Raine earlier this month (you can see some of what I sent to my swap partner here and here).

Per Sheree's hope, it really was a little bit of sunshine in the mail! I received my swap from Christie at Describe Happy. Christie lives in the US, so it was not just mail, but INTERNATIONAL mail - loved that!

The day the package arrived was a cloudy day and as soon as my children saw a package in the mailbox they tried to claim it as their own. As soon as I saw it I disabused them of this notion, and claimed it for my own. I did let them help me open it:)

Christie had done a little tease post, but I resisted the temptation of looking. I wanted it to truly be a surprise, and what a I lovely surprise it was! Christie had definitely been sussing me out. The package included all sorts of little goodies: fabric, origami paper, cheeky birdie labels, a beautiful jade bracelet and some origami corner book marks. The piece de resistance however, was this fab zipper pouch:



How cute is that?! And how perfect for me - wombats on one side and that gorgeous koala fabric on the other. There are several handy little compartments inside as well:)

I have already been enjoying some of my goodies, although I have had to fend off my oldest daughter (age 7) who really wants the jade bracelet and the origami paper:)

A BIG, BIG thank you to Sheree for organizing it all and to Christie for her package of goodies! It really was a little package of sunshine in the mail:) Cyndy

PS if you haven't done a crafty swap you should - I had so much fun giving and receiving:) Pin It

Thursday, September 22, 2011

My Creative Space...


This week I have started getting ready for my first market! That's right, a market:) It's not til November, so still a ways off, but with how things work around here I figure I need to focus on it when I can. If you have any market advice or tips I would love to hear it!

I have also been working on some more Christmas items. In keeping with my love of felt food, I have been working on some Christmas themed felt food. This is my first take on a Christmas pudding. I am also thinking about doing BBQ shrimp on a skewer, but need to figure out what I can use as a skewer that won't be sharp - a paddle pop stick perhaps? Well, I am sure I will come up with something:)

Hope you are getting lots done in your creative space this week! For more lovely spaces you can go here. Cyndy

PS can you believe it's the school holidays - starts tomorrow for us, that means only one term left in the year! Where has the time gone?! Pin It

Thursday, September 15, 2011

My Creative Space

It seems incongruous to me that spring is here and I am thinking about Christmas! Having grown up in the northern hemisphere, Christmas for me means cold and snowy (yes, it was a white Christmas where I grew up:). So while the combination of summer and Christmas feels a bit strange to me, and I have let go of a few things (sorry roast turkey) I have a found a way to mix some of my northern hemisphere traditions with traditions here.

One of the things I definitely haven't let go of is decorating our house. I love having a Christmas tree and decorations everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I really mean EVERYWHERE; you will find decorations in every room of our house:) I recently found some Christmas fabric at Spotlight that features cockatoos, kangaroos and koalas that I couldn't resist. This week I have been working on some Christmas buntings using the fabric. I think they are quite fun and help bring my two Christmas worlds together!

Are you already planning for Christmas? Whether you are or not, I hope you are getting lots done in your creative space this week. You can visit here to see more lovely spaces. Cyndy Pin It

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Visions of Spring


The first week of September was fabulous here, warmer than normal weather. The lavender in the front garden looked beautiful, so I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. I thought I would share them today in hopes of conjuring up a little bit of that nice warm spring weather:) Can you feel the warmth? Cyndy



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Thursday, September 8, 2011

My Creative Space...


What do you do when you have an idea in your head? Me? I usually go through what's in my craft stash, pull out anything that I think might work with what I see in my head and then its trial and error. If it's something real (like a flower or a food) I will look for pics on the Internet or in the case of food look for the real thing (had to buy a pack of Iced Vo Vos the other week in the name of research:) Sometimes my first try at making is the best try, sometimes it takes more than one try to get it the way I see it in my head.

This week I finished up the Iced Vo Vo set I was working on (just listed in my Made It store if you are interested:) and already had an idea for the next food I wanted to make. I have been on a sweet treat kick (Iced Vo Vo, lamington, pavlova, fairy bread) and have been feeling guilty. My new idea is definitely healthier - Weet-Bix!

Above is take two of my Weet-Bix, conveniently situated next to my research (not as fun as the Iced Vo Vos I will admit). Yes, Weet-Bix is a brown rectangle, but that by it self doesn't capture its essence. Weetbix has texture, and how to capture that in a felt food has been challenging. My first take was one layer of small pieces (like the piece at back of plate in the pic), but it didn't look right. I have now added another layer of pieces, in a more rounded shape. Better, but still mulling it over. And the sides, I do have an idea, but I think it is going to be even harder than the top!

Hope you are getting lots done in your creative space today! For more lovely spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

Monday, September 5, 2011

My First Crafty Swap - Favorite Sydney Places Notecards


In August I participated in my first crafty swap, the Snail Mail Swap hosted by the lovely Sheree at Seaweed and Raine. The premise of the swap was pretty simple: to send someone "Sunshine in the Mail" because everyone likes getting real mail (not those yucky bills or junk mail) by September 1.

Now that my package has been received by Terese from Designed To a T I thought I would share one of the items in her package I had fun making. If you saw my teaser post earlier you probably noted and were confused by the picture of the book Know Australia: New South Wales.

One thing I learned about Terese is that she lives in the Sydney area - when I first came to Australia 20 years ago I lived in Sydney and I loved it! It really is one of my favorite cities in the world (although I have definitely developed an appreciation for Melbourne after living nearby for the last 4 years, is that diplomatic or what:)

The book was from the 1970's and contained some lovely drawings and fun facts about places of interest in New South Wales, including many in Sydney. I loved the drawings, but thought the facts were fun too, so I tried to create something that would use both. The result were these note cards featuring some of my favorite places in Sydney including the Opera House....


the Sydney Harbour Bridge...


the Rocks...


the beaches (Manly is probably my fav)...


and the Taronga Zoo (best view of Sydney in my opinion)...


I do love how they turned out and was a little sad to give them away, but I did make them for Terese:)The good news is that I have similar books on all the other states, so I think there may be some more cards coming! Cyndy
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Thursday, September 1, 2011

My Creative Space


This has been a hectic week. Lots of extra things happening amongst the regular schedule and lots of unneeded drama from the children. Oldest daughter decided she didn't like how her book character costume was going so after much moaning and groaning (can also read tantrum) finally got her to agree on a new costume last night - Nancy Drew. We already have everything we need except knee socks:) Will need to get those tonight - not even sure if you can get them anymore! My son waited until the last minute to complete his model for the junior school dinosaur exhibit and admist it all the youngest decided late yesterday was the time to get gastro.

The control freak in me isn't doing well with it all:)

I did manage to finally send out my items for the Snail Mail Swap hosted by Seaweed and Raine. Above is a little peek at one of the items I made to send (it's a pin cushion) - will do a full post this weekend on everything I sent:)

Hope you are getting lots done in your creative space this week! For more spaces you can visit here. Cyndy


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