Handmade, just not by me.

I knew I wouldn’t get around to making anybody any gifts this Christmas but instead of feeling bad about it I just bought a few things instead; I found all this except for the dino-teddy on Etsy & have re-discovered my love for it. Yeah I like Regretsy, but it has been clouding my perception of what really is a showcase of great artistic & creative talent. Please excuse the clipped pictures, I only thought to take photos when I was upstairs wrapping & there isn’t a whole lot of room up there at the moment!

I have to start with the dino-teddy. I found him at the oppy last week when it was just Spence & I & Spence loved him at first sight. He’s brand new; there were a lot of knitted toys altogether, I think perhaps one of the volunteers made them especially for Christmas. He’s so cute & weird, I am happy for him to be Spency’s Christmas present from Mama.

This brooch is for my Gran, also known here as the brooch addict. She gave me two old hairclips yesterday that have little coloured stones inlaid, when she handed them over I said, “It’s a wonder you’re not turning these into a brooch” & she admitted she had considered it.

An apron, oven mitt & chef’s hat for Punk – something I did briefly consider making but then I saw this set & it was perfect.

And finally Punk’s Christmas dress. Inadvertently Punk’s Christmas outfits for the last 3 years have been handmade… I think that makes it a tradition.

Now I better get out of here… we’re off to see Santa!

Blogs, around the house.

One often reads posts where a blogger declares that “…blogging has given me so much!”, & I would have to agree, literally.

I love that I can go in almost any room of my house & see things that have come from other Bloggers – things I saw & wanted (needed!) or things they saw or made & thought I would like.

It makes our little cottage even more cosy, so I thought I’d share a glimpse of just some of the things that really make our house a (blogger’s) home.

(Punk’s room: Pyjama monster & rainbow haired doll from Sam. Vintage fabric lap quilt from Deb. Suspence’s room: Tiny ted from Jess, SUPER robot softie from Cath, plaid bunny from Jennie. My room: Many brooches from Cam, one from Liz & one from Cinti’s shop. The lounge room: Chooky pin-cushion from Alex. On the way to the laundry: Singlet from Bec, Skirt from Kate & another lovely dress from Alex. Kitchen: WELL used 80’s-esque tea towel from Nic.)

The Benefits of Hoarding.

Hoarding, specifically hoarding craft supplies, means never having nothing to do. It means that one can, when inspiration strikes, whip up something with a moment’s notice.

And so it was with my Mum’s birthday present.

I forgot it was her birthday until the day before & couldn’t find anything I liked enough or could afford to give her as a gift, so I gave up googling random selections of her favourite things & made her something instead.

I was particularly chuffed with the camera although, ironically, I couldn’t photograph it very well. I cut it free hand from felt & it turned out better than I thought it would, although my “applique” skills leave a LOT to be desired!

Linking up here for $5 or less DIY

Posted too soon!

The mailman has been!

Thank you Kate! (Punky said, as soon as she saw it “Kate made that too!” & wanted to try it on… who am I to say no?)xo

Pincushions – Incoming.

I’ve been dying to show you the awesome that lives at my house now in pincushion form, I was waiting on the last but Mr Mail System seems to have eaten it… no matter, wanting more after already receiving such goodies is a bit greedy, I admit.

I LOVE the pincushions I received from my dear bloggy friends, love them too much to stick pins in them… so they are adorning my mantle piece instead!

I should have taken pictures of each with their extra-goodies-in-the-parcel glory… but I didn’t. Two had chocolate in them. CHOCOLATE. If you think this preggers lady was about to neatly arrange her goodies for a photo shoot and leave that poor choccie languishing in despair, well… you don’t know me very well yet. That’s why none of my parcels were sent out with chocolate in them. Seriously – how does one be around it, and not eat it?

Right!

On to the awesome!

First to arrive was this beauty from Rachelle of Ted and Agnes, with chocolate (why can’t I get that kind here Rach….?! Why must you tease me so?!) & some lovely fabric….

…my fakie Blythe Paige has been using it as a cushion… it goes with her dress, I think!

The next to arrive was from Lovely Lola (Did you know that her name isn’t really Lola?! I know… I can’t get my head around it either… I refuse to call her anything else…), with MORE CHOCOLATE… *ahem* Not that chocolate is all I care about, oh no, but it makes opening the mail that much sweeter… (boom boom!)

It has a chicken on it. A red chicken. Need I say more? Need I?!

And last but most certainly not least, this beauty arrived from Jo. Jo outdid herself here, I’m sure you’ll agree – Not only did she make the most wonderfully cute wee Russian doll/red riding hood hybrid for me, but IT FITS ON DISPLAY PERFECTLY. Even The Boy said so, and he’s not really one for admiring pincushions… She also spoiled me silly with extra awesomeness – RED buttons, yellow doily lushness, the sweetest covered tape measure, a hat for The Punk… there is surely more I’ve missed because I was a wee bit overwhelmed!

Thank you my darlings for playing along, I had a blast and I adore all this handmade pretty that I get to look at every day now… and…. *sniffle* think of you! (Pass the Kleenex, won’t you?) 

I’ve got even more mail-goodness to share tomorrow, do you hate me?

To Market, To Market…

I had been looking forward to a wee little market a little bit out of town all week – it sounded like just my bag, you see, unlike our local market, so yesterday I set off, funky Punky in tow, and had a lovely time…

It was exactly what I’d hoped for, a friendly little eclectic market with friendly eclectic people. Miss Punk made some instant friends & spent an age jump, jump, jumping about on the air castle. (Side note; do you know, that here, in Victoria, the locals say “Cassel”? I find this as fascinating as I do irritating…)

Aren’t these art dolls just beautiful? Punky picked out the one with the flower, but as we were leaving I rushed back to get the gorgeous pair, I would have regretted it if I hadn’t. Love. LOVE! They are now happily situated on what is fast becoming ‘the handmade goodness’ side of Punk’s mantle.

Was your weekend all woohoo & yeahaw too? I hope so!

Pay It Forward

I know, I know, I am super late to the party, last to arrive at the fair, shutting the gate when the horse has bolted etc, etc, etc.

I can hear you wailing “But VIC! Where have you BEEN?!”

I can see you sitting smugly at your computer (…yes I can! You thought you were safe in that snugee…?!), safe in the knowledge that you’ve posted out and received your Pay It Forward giftees yonks ago.

Well….. pfft!

I thought I HAD missed the Pay It Forward blog boat, I really, really did! I thought that everybody that had any desire to participate had already done so & got it out of their system. I thought my Pay It Forward desire would be forever unfulfilled… until last night, after some random blog hopping. Since I’ve been sick I’ve not been doing much of anything EXCEPT blog hopping & feeling sorry for myself, and it’s been quite lovely actually, finding new blogs & inspiration, but it was almost a miracle to happen across a real, live Pay If Forward post… just waiting for me…!

For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, I think I love you. Read on.

Pay It Forward is a meme that has been doing the rounds for some time, spreading the bloggy love so to speak.

How it works;

• I will make a little sumpin sumpin for the first 3 people who comment here who would like to play along.

• I have 365 days in which to complete this endeavour (..perfect!)

• What it will be & when it will arrive is an absolute surprise! Marvellous!

The small print;

Well, it IS called ‘Pay It Forward’ for a reason. You, friend, must do as I have done & post a similar blog entry yourself, hence Paying the handmade bloggy goodness forward & keeping the meme, & the fun, going.

Want to join in? You know you do. C’mon! You’ve got A YEAR! To make whatever you want! Three whatever you wants! And you’ll get handmade goodness from moi, if I do say so myself.

Even you, yes you, snugee wearers. You can go around again. I don’t mind.

Big thanks to Jade Holi for letting me have some Pay It Forward fun!

Confessions….

Ah, the time has come to tell the truth!

I told you I was banning myself from the computer! I told you I had things to make & stuff to do! I told you I would be off making those things & doing that stuff…..

But I lied.

It wasn’t intentional, I promise. But I’m lazy. It was hot. The dog ate my homew… oh.

I spent the few days I had given myself away from the blog, erm… reading other blogs (like Lola’s… I HAD to comment on her boots – outing myself immediately…), worrying about the house (yes, we still don’t know fo’shizzle if she will be ours…. and I am dying over here…!), doing uncharacteristically well at my driving lesson because instead of worrying about my driving test I was worrying about the house, shopping, lazing about & shopping.

To answer your question Claire (…and why THANK YOU for asking… I really appreciate you keeping me honest, damn you.), no, I didn’t make The Boy a single handmade thing. He does have something coming in the mail… but other than that… *whistles innocently*

I did manage however, after mooching about for days doing nada, to find myself on Christmas eve with nothing to wear to Christmas lunch & with no Christmas stocking for Punky to leave out for Santa.

I knocked the outfit over in no-time flat, making me wonder why I kept putting it off. I bought a skirt last week at the oppy that was super-gorgeous but about two sizes too small for my big butt, so I removed the waistband, button & zip & added another panel with an elastic waist. I used an old red sheet with a hem, so I didn’t even have to sew the elastic casing…! Lazy much?

.

Lucky for me, my gorgy Curlypops brooch went perfectly with my skirt! (And you can see why I was so desperate to get those boots on… I was planning to wear them on Xmas from the moment I saw them online!)

The wee hours saw me doing a TERRIBLE job of putting together a patchwork stocking for Punky with a dodgily embroidered name patch… I really should not be allowed to craft after midnight… (…that’s when my brain turns into a pumpkin…)

 

What else did I say I was going to do but didn’t…? I can’t remember but I doubt I did it. My family haven’t even had their pressies posted yet…! (But, all of their pressies ARE handmade… so that surely counts for something…?!)

I'm making a list, and checking it twice....

Christmas if approaching at an alarming rate & it is slowly dawning on me that I better get cracking with the Christmas presents. I have decided to go with handmade gifts for all, except for a couple we already have on lay by for the Punk (I can't imagine where one would go for a handmade trampoline...).



I announced this interesting fact to The Boy who immediately replied (brace yourselves crafty ladies with crafty or at the very least, nice, partners....) "I don't want any of your crap!". I am hoping he was joking. If not. He's just going to have to suck it up.



I'm not going to make everything myself - oh no - I just don't think I'm up to that. Plus, there are so many talented artisans out there making some lovely things, much better than I could ever hope to do. So I am making only the things I really, really want to, and that I think I can do justice to, and buying the rest. Even buying handmade is, to me, so much more personal & prompts you to think more about the person you are buying for and why you are buying them anything at all. It is easier to buy the usual department store stuff - without a doubt, you could get an ipod shuffle for everyone on your Christmas list, but does that really capture the spirit of giving....?



I love Christmas & I love giving gifts. I just LOVE it. Much more than receiving gifts, although I won't complain when I get some, but I just adore the entire process of gift giving, from the initial thoughts to the finale - the recipient's expression when they open their little sumpin' sumpin'. It is fun & heartening & good for the soul.

A Pinch & A Punk For The First Of The Month.

November? November?! How DID that happen?

I knew yesterday was the last day of October. I knew today would be the 1st of November. I knew November was the month before December & that December is the crazy busy so much fun I love Christmas so much I get a bit insane month, but it really hit me when I changed my Calendar (South Park - not a huge fan but it was $2 on clearance in February...) page this morning. It's.... November.

Today marks the official end of Blogtoberfest - it's been a fun month! There were a few days there where I thought I wasn't going to make it, something about having to post every day made me anxious... sure I can post most days anyway, but when I HAVE to, it's an entirely different story. I held my very first, and second, giveaways, found a bunch of new blogs that I adore, gathered a few extra followers (Welcome! Are you sure you're in the right place...?!), was inspired & excited by so many crafty craft types &, as if that all weren't enough, I won some awesome stuff... which I still can't believe, I am incredibly lucky in blogland it seems... (Now, won't the lotto start a blog so I can enter their giveaway & win it...?! I promise I'll share...)

Muchos thanks must go to TinnieGirl for holding such an awesome blog carnival, CurlyPops for being a gorgeous & glamorous barrel girl & BadSkirt for hosting the ideas hub (which, I'm sorry, I totally forgot about & could have really used!). I know I'll be back next year.

And... because I am quite obviously unstable, I am not done with the challenges. This one is going to be a tad more demanding as it shall require more from me than sitting here next to my red phone & typing madly - I shall have to get out my sewing machine &.... well.... sew.

I have joined Wardrobe Refashion. For 2 months. Starting today.

The Pledge
I Vic pledge that I shall abstain from the
purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2
months. I
pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items
for myself with
my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of
my contract.

I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my
refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the
Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy
thriftiness
brings! Signed...X.

(I've always wanted to sign with an "X"...)

That means no new store bought Xmas clothes for me. That means I am going to have to find, in an oppy, something that can be made into a festive outfit suitable for lunch at a fancy shmancy hotel. Or I have to make something from scratch. Or I can buy something from Etsy. Let me just say, thank goodness the Aussie dollar is going gangbusters right now!


Luckily, I managed to buy almost an entire summer wardrobe for Punky from a seller on Etsy who was having a summer clearance sale a couple of weeks ago - that's what the pictures are - lovely outfits aren't they? I think so, all for the princely sum of $5 each! Yup, $5 each! I got all 7 sets she had left in Punk's size, which ended up being something like $55 Aussie including shipping & with a few lovely hair bows. I have been telling everyone who will listen. Especially, it seems, people who could care less. The Boy's boss for example; "Hello Punky." Me: "Her outfit cost $5!" TBB: "........" Me: "...from Etsy!" TBB: ".......". Ah well. I know you care. Right?!

I digress.

So November, & December, are going to be months of making dodgey cut up tshirts out of perfectly fine, professionally made tshirts, making skirts longer or shorter than they used to be & adding "embellishments" to things. Don't pretend you're not excited. You are. I can tell.... & don't fret, I'll be sure to share my, erm, 'creations' with you!