To Market To Market

One market down and one to go! This weekend I had a stall at the Ashby Primary School Market Day. This one is a bit special for me, as it's my children's school and not only did I have a stall, but I was one of the organisers:)

The market included indoor and outdoor stalls featuring handmade, vintage and eco-friendly goods, food, activities and the student art show. We were blessed with fabulous weather and it seems by all accounts (stall holders and patrons) it was a wonderful day.

The school didn't do to bad either, we raised about $1,000 more than last year despite shortening the event by an hour. The proceeds will help support the school's music and visual arts programs, both of which are fantastic. We are a lucky little school!

Despite having another market in two weeks (Piccadilly's Market, Sunday November 25th, Geelong Waterfront) I feel I can take a bit of a breather - only some stock to finish up. No worrying about volunteers, flyers, supplies etc....hooray! Cyndy Pin It

Day 16 Blogtoberfest - Blinky Bill Fabric

Blinky Bill has made his appearance on the blog before here and here, but this has to be my favourite. This is a 100% cotton fabric from the 1980's. I got it recently via Etsy. Ironically the seller lived nearby!

This weekend I cut into it. Yes, it was hard to do, but I can't wait to show you what I am making:) Cyndy

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Day 7 Blogtoberfest - Paper Buntings and Garlands

Pretty much every time I am in an op shop I bring home a book (or two or three:). Sometimes for the story, but mostly for the illustrations.

Many books are hidden works of art, particularly children's books. Many are also damaged. Despite the damage I figure something can be done with them. Magnets, brooches and cards are just a few of the things I have made with illustrations from books. And bunting and garlands, of course:)

I have several in progress right now including a 1970's version of Blinky Bill bunting:

And a Bananas in Pajamas garland:

Now I will admit, it is hard to cut into a book, even a damaged book, but in the long run I figure it's better to cut and create something that will be used then for the book to end up pulped or in a landfill.

Have you ever used illustrations from books? What have you made? Cyndy Pin It

Op Shop Find

Yesterday, on the way to a birthday party, middle and I stopped into an op shop we frequent. I always come home with more when middle is with me and yesterday was no exception.

I am not a huge figurine fan, but we found these Japanese cold paint ones packaged up together in a bag. When middle saw the horses in the bag she was sold.

I found this koala (mama and baby) piggy bank. I used to have a real piggy bank. It was vintage, ceramic and pink, but it was stolen when our house was broken into over a couple of years ago (I was more upset that they took the pig than the change in it). I've been looking for another piggy bank to replace it. True it's not a pig, but it is pretty cute:)

And of course what would a trip to the op shop be without some books. A Nancy Drew for middle and two Enid Blyton's for me:)

Hoping you had some lovely finds this week:) Be sure to visit Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures to see what others have found! Cyndy Pin It

Op Shop Finds - A Lesson in Looking Up

This week I was in one of my favourite op shops, looking through the shelves and about to walk away, when I looked up. And there, all by itself on the top of the shelves sat this Weet-Bix tin. Yep, I gave a little yelp out loud and grabbed it! It's not old, old (from the early 1990's I think) but I love it. You may remember my felt Weet-Bix? Yes, I will need to do a new photo shoot using this as a prop:)

On the same shelves (eye level) I found this black tole tray. I collect tole trays of all sizes and shapes so this will be  lovely addition.

And what would a trip to the op shop be without a few book? I found this hard cover Enid Blyton classic from the 1970s. It's a little worse for the wear but I had to have it. I also found the little cowboy book printed in 1967. My oldest is past the cowboy stage at age 10, but I am sure there will be some little cowboys somewhere in my future:)

To see more fun finds from the last week be sure to visit Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures. Happy Op Shopping! Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space

This week the children are on school holiday. I can't believe how fast the term went! I think littlest going to kinder was the accelerator - there was so much more to do and more of a schedule for me.

In contrast to the craziness of term one, so far the school holiday has been about doing nothing. Yes, that is right, NOTHING. Nothing scheduled, no where we have to be and I am loving it!

I am, however, using this time to plan birthdays. Littlest and middle are both April babies. Middle wants a craft party (hmm, wonder where she gets that from:) and littlest wants a princess party. I have middle's birthday gifts all sorted, but do have some work to do for littlest. My plan had been a doll's house, but with only two weeks to go not sure that is going to happen. I do have some new clothes for Miss Polly in process and I think there might be a winter skirt or two that gets done.

And then there is Easter. Usually I am quite prepared, but this year it has snuck up on me. Sadly, I haven't been able to find any white eggs so no egg dying:( We also make Easter cookies, but we probably won't do until Easter Monday. I haven't even put up the Easter decorations! Yes, I really am slacking! Today, today I promise:)

In anticipation of putting up the Easter decorations today I made an Easter bunting from vintage children's books last night.

Over the last couple of weeks I picked up a few Little Golden Books featuring bunnies with the idea of making an Easter bunting from them (I don't think I paid more than fifty cents for a book).

It was pretty simply; I pulled out the pages with nice pictures, traced the bunting shape on them and cut them out.

I then folded the top of each flag over paper twine and glued them down to string them together.

It's bunnies, not Easter per se, but I think it will add a little Easter flair to the house:)

I hope you are getting lots done in your creative space this week or you can visit Our Creative Spaces to get inspiration from others:) Happy Easter, Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space - To Market To Market

I have been on an unintended blog break for the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I did my first market of the year (and only my third ever), the Artefact Market. Really, I don't know how people do them on a regular basis! I was flat out, especially the week of the market, I didn't even go to sleep the night before. Yeah....I will never do that part again.

That said, I did enjoy the market. For me markets are not about the selling, but the response to my making. And the response from the market goers was wonderful. They especially loved my felt food creations. It was fun to see their smiles, hear their comments, and watch them bring someone else over to see them:) My felt Weet-bix got the biggest response. Who knew something so silly would have such an impact? Laura and Penny from the  Oh! Hello Geelong  blog did a review of the Artefact market and highlighted (including pics) my felt creations. How can that not make you feel good about what you create?

It was also fun to see people get what I am trying to do. While I do make many things, when I decided to start selling my handmade items I wanted to be different. I also wanted to be able to create all manners of things in a way that would seem consistent and connected. That ultimately led to me focusing my making for selling on items that have an Australiana theme. I loved having people exclaim over my gumnut babies bibs, or Possum Magic bag tags or Magic Pudding magnets. To hear people comment on my felt lamingtons, wool embroidered native flower hoop art or koala crayons. Yes, all my items are functional and have a purpose, but they also evoke memories and connections.

In the two weeks since the market I have had a string of sales in my Madeit shop (including a custom order) and have just been trying to catch up on all the things I had neglected. But as I look around my house I am thinking there is still lots of catching up to do! So I am glad the school holidays are about to start - I am actually looking forward to just being at home. No  kinder, no school, no ballet, no netball, no swimming etc... No schedule:) There will, however, be some crafting. Both girls have birthdays in April, so I have some projects to finish:)

I hope you have been getting lots done in your creative space and I look forward to catching up on my blog visiting. Check out Our Creative Spaces to see what others have been up to. Cyndy Pin It

Blinky Bill and Surprises

Earlier this week I got a little surprise. I received a package in the mail of something I had ordered in November, but it had been so long since I had ordered it that I had forgotten it was even coming! It was a package from Spoonflower, where you can design and print your own fabric. During their last free postage special I had decided to try out an idea for a fabric print.

I love Australian children's literature. One of my favourites is Blinky Bill (I found a first edition copy for $0.99 on Ebay, can you believe it! It's a little worse for the wear, but it's a first edition:). It's a curious little story, but it's the illustrations by Dorothy Wall that I love the most. When thinking about names for my shop I considered "the peppermint koala" because of the bit in the story where Blinky Bill gets into Miss Pimm's store and eats the peppermints:)

So back to the Spoonflower fabric. I had been thinking about creating some sort of Blinky Bill fabric using artwork from the original book. So when the postage special happened I decided to go for it and then apparently forgot! Imagine my surprise when my package showed up 2 months later with this little fabric swatch in it - I loved it!

It's only a fat quarter so I need to think carefully about how I will use it. And yes, I am now itching to use it:) Don't you love it when you forget and get a nice surprise? Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space

 

Even though I should be focusing on a specific craft project (like Christmas presents) sometimes I get distracted by an idea that I decide I need to try. Recently, I embroidered words on some needlework. It looked awful, so I unpicked it.

I had done the words freehand. But after seeing my results, I thought there has to be a better way. Sure enough a better way occurred to me so I decided I needed to try it out - now. As it was an idea that I hadn't tested and I have other projects I should be working on (like Christmas presents) you would think I would try it with something simple. Not my style, because I decided to go all out and do an entire multi sentence quote complete with a picture (from Norman Lindsay's The Magic Pudding)!

You will be glad to know that my idea worked:) My words looked so much better. What did I do to embroider the words? I simply printed the words in a font that I liked on paper (make sure to print them in a colour other than the colour you plan to embroider them in) and affixed the paper to the fabric I was using. I then embroidered on the paper/fabric and pulled the paper off when I was finished.

So now that I know it works, its time to get back to the projects I really need to get done (Christmas presents:).

Hope you are not too distracted in your creative space this week. For more creative spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space...

It's the second week of the school holidays and the demands have definitely caught up with me! Unfortunately, I haven't been as productive as I would like, especially in light of the fact that I have my first market coming up in less than a month!

I have, however, managed to work on a few note cards. In August I made some Sydney Favourite Places note cards for my partner in the Seaweed and Raine Sunshine in the Mail Swap (to see some of the other fabulous swap items made by the various participants you can visit here). I made them using a 1970's book written for children on New South Wales (NSW). I love the colours, the kitschy illustrations, and the facts about places in the book.

The book on NSW was one of a set, and yes, I managed to score one on each state:) How cool is that? This week I decided to make similar note cards to the NSW ones from the book on Victoria. It was actually quite hard; there are illustrations and facts on the front and back of each page so I could only pick one from each page. In some cases I went for colour (like the Moomba one), in other case I went for famous places (like the MCG one). Not surprisingly most of the places featured in the book were in Melbourne. There was one poor little page about Geelong, but the illustration was all gray and it talked about the industrial/port side of Geelong. Not terribly interesting card making material:(

Like the Sydney note card set, I love the way these have turned out so far. I still have a few more to make, but I have encountered the classic "running out of materials while in the middle of a project" problem and need to get some more card stock so that I can finish them off. As a result, this project will probably be in the "in progress" pile for a little while.

I hope you are getting more done in your creative space than I am this week! For more lovely spaces you can visit here. Cyndy

PS For all you footy fans I thought I would share some gratuitous pics from the parade yesterday in Geelong to celebrate our third Premiership in 5 years:)

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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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My Creative Space

This week I have done a little bit of this and a little bit of that. As a crafter my concentration tends to wander, which is why I usually have several projects in process. It is also why it often takes me a while to actually finish something.

Fortunately there are a few things that made their way into the "finish" pile this week. I did finish a new felt food idea Again, I don't know why, but sweets seem to make the funnest (is that a word?) felt food to make. This is my take on the iced vovo (front and back).

Also in the "finish" pile my items for the Seaweed and Raine Snail Mail Swap. More to show about that in the next day or so as my partner receives their package.

In the "in process" pile, book character costumes for my two oldest, due next week. Yes, I have left this one a little late this year, so I have told the children they need to have simple ideas (my son usually comes up with a bionicle or Pokemon he wants to be). It looks like they have settled on Amelia Bedelia and Butler (from the Artemis Fowl series). Funnily enough, both costumes are black and white. At least this is a project with a clear deadline.

Also in the "in process" pile, a Christmas garland and tags from a damaged copy of the children's book The Australian Twelve Days of Christmas (there are some pages missing). As it's August, this project is clearly ahead of schedule:) I found the book recently at the op shop. It didn't fit in my bookshelf, so I had to start working with it!

I hope you were able to put something into your "finished" pile this week or maybe you've got a few things "in process". To see more creative spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

My First Crafty Swap

I am participating in my first crafty swap, the Snail Mail Swap hosted by Seaweed and Raine. The idea is to send someone "Sunshine in the Mail" because everyone likes getting real mail (not those yucky bills or junk mail). There are five options of what you can include in your package:

• stationary OR  note cards with envelopes
• a handmade postcard
• something you have made
• something that makes you think of Spring
• a surprise for your partner

You need to choose at least three. I have been studying my swap partner's (it's a blind swap so while I will be sending to one person, I will be receiving from another person) blogs for ideas of what to send.

I don't want to reveal too much yet, but above is some of what went into the items she is receiving. Will do a full reveal after I send my package later this week. They are supposed to receive their package before September 1. Yes, I am waiting until the last minute to send:) Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space...

So, I have a bit of a thing for books. There I said it. Really, I am a self confessed bookaholic. I LOVE books. I have always been a reader and hoarder owner of books. When growing up, during the summers I used to spend all day reading in bed. It's such a simple pleasure. True, it's hard to do now that I have young children, but I do try to carve out some reading time in bed on a Sunday morning (no doubt with one or two of the children bouncing in the bed next to me:)

Reading isn't the only great thing about books. I also love the art, especially in children's books. I love browsing through the children's books in the op shop. If you have children you probably know that some books become very "loved"; pages get ripped, drawn on or even get food/juice spilled on them - I am sure you know what I mean.

I hate to see these books go to waste, especially if they have beautiful illustrations. The cards and envelopes I made are from one such book I found at the op shop. Some of the pages were loose and had water damage, but the illustrations were gorgeous! How could you not love May Gibbs' illustrations of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie no matter what condition? It took me awhile (again, even a damaged book is hard for me to cut up), but I finally decided to make some cards and lined envelopes from the illustrations. I love them! Now just to decide who to send them to!

Hope you week has been creative, for more creative spaces this week you can visit here. Cyndy

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Little Golden Book Horses Paper Garland

Finished the paper garland I was making from the Little Golden Book Horses - hooray! It's a gift for my oldest daughter's best friend who is absolutely horse crazy. I hope she likes it. Still need to help my daughter finish the "I love horses" sign this afternoon:) Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space...

Next week is my oldest daughter's (age 7) best friend's birthday. As a regular op shop visitor, I had found a Little Golden Book about horses with lovely illustrations in it some time ago. I scooped it up thinking I might make something from it for my daughter's best friend who is horse crazy. As with many of my purchases I wasn't sure what I would make, but I knew that would come to me when the time was right.

After procrastinating as long as I could (I actually have a hard time cutting up books), I finally settled on making a paper garland for her bedroom from the book. I started working on it yesterday. When my daughter came home from school she saw some of the shapes I had punched out and said "Mum, I know what I want to make for Bridgette for her birthday, one of those banners like you made for Aunt Tanya." Clearly great minds think alike:) I was able to tell her that was exactly what I was making. She still wanted to make something herself for her friend, so we have come up with an "I love horse" collage/sign she is going to make using some of the leftover illustrations from the book.

I hope you are getting lots done in your creative space today. I am feeling the effects of my first cold of the season, so might not get as much done today as I had hoped! For more creative spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

Op Shop Find

My youngest (age 3) and I stopped at our favorite ops shop on the weekend. We love looking at the books - I don't think we have ever left the shop without at least one in hand!

I was excited to find this stash of children's books from the Young Australians Series for practically nothing! While a number of them have some water damage, loose pages and broken bindings, they have some fun and beautiful illustrations in them. Not sure what I will do with them yet, but I am sure I will come up with something fun - garlands, cards, envelopes, tags? Cyndy

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