Sewing Box.

I bought this ages ago at an oppy for $1 – mostly because of the plastic pineapple crochet hook it had inside which was exactly the same as the one my mother had tried (& failed) to teach me how to crochet with.

The lid was very cute but very stained – it also looked like a little girl’s sewing box, so yesterday when I was cleaning up & found it under my bedside drawers I thought I’d try to do something with it. The inside was stained too, & one of the little cords that held the lid up was snapped, so I pulled that all out.

It was harder than I thought it would be. The lid was pretty straight forward but once I’d ripped out the innards I sat staring at it for a while, wondering what I was going to do next & whether I really wanted to bother at all, it was that ugly duckling stage that a lot of projects go through & only experience helps you to know that you’ve got to keep going; experience & the fact that you’ve spent too long on what you've already done to forget about it now.

I’d be happier if I had a better quality staple gun – but when in doubt, use lots & lots & lots of glue.

Coasting.

We were given a random box of, well… junk, the other day, by the guy at the nursery; I thought it was sweet (he gave it to Punk to play with, I think) while Mr thought it was weird. It’s funny how differently we see things.

Anyway, there wasn’t much of use in there, except a really cool ice-cream scoop. There were a few coasters in there too which I thought I’d do something with.

I painted them with Gesso & wracked my brain; what would be something cool to put on a coaster?

When I think of coasters I think of pubs, bars, alcohol, music, glamour – maybe not the most child-friendly themes. I decided in the end to go with pretty girls, in the style of the Archie comics.

I went through a huge phase when I was younger of drawing people in this style & it was really fun to revisit that.

I covered them with a couple of coats of matt varnish, but even so, I don’t know if I want to use them as coasters after all.

More creative spaces here. (And, if you’re partial to a bit of meme, make sure to swing by Saturday, we have a bit of a homecoming….)

My Creative Space.

I saw this table at an oppy last week & Suspence loved it, it was the perfect size for him to stand at & scoot around, but I didn’t think it would fit in the car so I left it. Yesterday however I got to spend the day in town alone while Mr stayed home with the kiddos, so I managed to squish it in the car… along with a whole bunch of other opped goodies of course.

Punk was dismayed to wake up & find Pooh bear gone; she got over it though while eating her breakfast & trying to spot the Nursery Rhymes she knew.

Suspence was just happy, as usual.

Our Creative Spaces here.

Half-assed-craft; repurposed Dachshund jumper.

How quiet is it around here at the moment? I apologise but I am having a rare bout of domesticity; the house is in a state that DOES NOT have my heart racing if there is a knock at the door & we are wearing clothes that don’t have sauce stains on the front… this unique state of order comes at a cost however, & that seems to be any time I have for anything at all craft or blog related. Let us all hope I get over it soon.

In the meantime I have a truly half-assed-doggie-craft; make a dog jumper from a human jumper sleeve. I doubt you need any instructions past “Cut arm off jumper & put two holes in it”, so I won’t insult you.

I will say that trying to get Jordan to wear such a thing WAS an insult however, so Dixie – the shivery one – get’s two.

Pimp’n aint easy….

…but it’s always fun.

The other day, I asked this chicky, jokingly, to get the universe to send me a jogger pram (not for jogging sillies! How daft! Just for dawdling, wandering & moseying…) & then on Friday I found this one for $30. It was in really good condition apart from a bit of sun fade, so from Friday evening until last night, I gussied her up a bit.

Now she’s the Echino Pushchair. The Pimped Pram. The Crafty Chariot…. you get the idea…

The sun is a-shining today so we’re going to take her for a spin!

The Yarn Chair.

I love it.

Pants party.

I finished a whole two pairs of jumper-pants yesterday (or dacks, Bec?). I probably could have managed a couple more, but I got distracted.

Here is my lovely model, in Dr Evil mode (Can’t you see he is saying “Excellent!”?)…

…and cheeky monkey mode….

For peeps wondering how I made these, it was very simple – using the green woollies as a template, with one leg inside the other, I cut one leg from each sleeve, put one inside the other, right sides together & sewed the crotch seam. Then I just made a casing at the top for a drawstring – easy peasy!

All The Answers.

The Boy has a running joke whenever I watch Spicks & Specks that the answer to every second question is “David Bowie”.

I found a white Bowie tee for $4; it would have been a bargain if I could wear it, but it was… white, & with my jolly tummy, I don’t “do” white.

$4 for something you won’t use, even though it is only $4, is not a bargain.

$4 for the feature panel of a one-of-a-kind cushion cover however IS a bargain.

Made from 2 old shirts & a bit of corduroy. The shirt back/cushion back cover is from Sew La Tea Do.

Teapot… erm… pots…

I have been persisting in trying to get some Spring cleaning done around here even though it feels like anything but Spring – a glimpse of sunshine is followed by a drop in the temperature & clouds converging en masse – still, a couple of days ago it was the kitchen’s turn for a clean out.

Our kitchen is tiny. Teeny weenie ennie even. It’s also pretty badly equipped & laid out, but that’s another ‘when will we ever get around to renovating it, exactly’ kind of story. Basically, the bitsy size & lack of storage means that there isn’t enough room for my usual accumulation of kitschy whatnots, & finally admitting this I purged some teapots from my just-to-look-at collection & contemplated them sadly, thinking ‘…back to the opshop with ye!’. Just as I was thinking about finding a box to pack them away in, I glanced outside & saw The Boy’s potting bench with his many seedlings growing merrily away…

*insert light bulb here*

Teapot pots! Oui!

A quick Google told me it was possible, & off I scurried to get me a masonry drill bit.

Let me just say, that drilling into something ceramic for the first time is completely & utterly TERRIFYING!

Let me also say that a $3.75 drill bit will get you through three teapots, & only just. I think I might need to invest in a better quality one, because I have a whole lot more herbs to gather, & see little wee teacup planters in my future….

(I just pierced a few holes in the bottom of the bread tin with a nail, and the l’elephants were planters already…)

tIePod Cosy – Tute

So, maybe you want to make an easy cosy for your iPod or iPhone (or maybe you don’t, who knows… you ARE fickle…) from one of the vintage ties you’ve been unconsciously stashing, knowing they’d come in hand for something, someday?

Just so happens I took some pictures as I was making mine, because, well, that’s what we do, isn’t it?

First of all, let me just say I hope you’ll use this more as a general guide than a hard & fast ‘How To’ – I just sort of made it up as I went along & can see now there may have been better/neater/easier ways to do it, so read through & come to your own conclusions, you’re a clever bunch, and most much more cluey about sewing than I!

(Note for above: Some ties will be tacked on the inside, you may need to unpick a little & re-sew the front seam… or, if you’re lazy like me… choose another tie…)