It’s getting festive up in here!

All thanks to a tin *cough*two tins*cough* of spray starch.

We now have a giant wreath above the mantle piece & a trunk on the Christmas tree; Mr came running to me last night saying “Vic! There is no stem on the Christmas tree!”. Before then, I hadn’t realised it was a festive necessity but what the hey; two snips & a spray later a trunk appeared & it looks fine.

What is ace about using stash fabric for this stuff is that I am going to be able to make any number of other decorations with what I have left & it will all co-ordinate perfectly.

I don’t want to offend anyone but I was just thinking that this is one of my favourite things about being an atheist. Crafting in my pyjamas on a Sunday morning because I don’t have to be dressed or go anywhere. (I know it seems ironic to be putting up Chrissie decos & declaring my atheism, but Christmas has never been about anything religious for me, always about love, sharing & fun. It is my favourite time of the year.)

Plus, I think I’m just too lazy to be religious; there are commitments that come with that stuff don’t you know…

Oh Christmas tree…

When I started thinking about putting up the Christmas tree I realised pretty quickly that I’d have to re-think the whole thing due to Suspence being a climbing monkey octopus & the fact that, in our teeny house, the only place I could put the tree was a prime “pull off the ornaments & tip the tree over in an instant” position.

I was searching last night for an inflatable Christmas tree. We actually had one years ago, with inflatable ornaments & star & I loved it’s kitchy goodness until the cat attacked it, so I thought it would be the perfect kid-proof option, but the online options were dismal so I nixed that & started looking for christmas tree wall decal instead. I found quite a few, some very lovely ones too, but, well, I’m cheap. You know it, I know it, there is no point in pretending that I would be shelling out $90 for a sticker, no matter how lovely, so it was back to the drawing board again.

Maybe I could make something? I remembered a project in a book I have about using starch to stick a piece of fabric to the wall like wallpaper so I thought I’d give that a whirl.

I could only find spray starch at the supermarket so that’s what I got. I tested a piece of fabric & it seemed to stick pretty well so I got down to cutting a whole heap of circles from my fabric stash.

I sprayed the wall, placed on my fabric, sprayed it again & flattened/removed the excess moisture with a sponge.

Not only does it look tops, it smells nice too! Oh, and it’s totally Suspence-proof. He tried to peel off a bauble & couldn’t… woot!

Linking up here!

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.

Home.

We’re home. Back from beaches, caravan parks, pools, theme parks, gardens, farm gates, Santa Claus, shopping, seals, penguins, pizza, playing, fishing, walking, laughing, driving, markets, chocolate, rocks, talking, mazes, slides, flowers, berries, drawing, sand, trees, rabbits, horse rides, chickens, cafe lunches, running, sharing… a fast holiday. A fun holiday.

The Princess & The Pea.

Here she is!

…

We’re heading off for a short break in the next few days so My Place And Yours will be out of action this week & possibly next, although I might post a new theme on a different day.

Nerves are high; will I remember to pack everything? Will Suspence sleep in his port-a-cot? And, for the Mr, will the house-sitter manage to keep all his tomato plants alive (he is the most nervous of all. He’d be less nervous if he were leaving Punk at home alone, truly…)??

Punk had crazy hair day at kindy yesterday; I think she rocked it.

Pop back again a bit later or tomorrow; my Softie for Mirabel is almost done & I can’t wait to show you!

The Presets.

Thought I best join in the MPAY fun before it’s over, so here is my favourite item of clothing.

I can’t wear it now because even though it fits “in theory” my 2-bubba-jelly-belly makes it all kinds of unflattering, so I’ve had it packed away in a vintage suitcase with apparently my entire band shirt collection; some of which I am totally going to bust out around the house now that I’ve unearthed them, although just moments ago the notion of turning them all into a t-shirt quilt crossed my mind.

This Presets shirt in particular is my #1 band shirt because the design is awesome, the band is awesome & because it reminds me of some awesome times (…so, in case you missed it, it’s all pretty awesome…). This photo was taken at the Big Day Out in Sydney where later Mr’s lil’bro (that’s him!) & I went to a gig where the drummer was doing a solo show in a tiny bar. I literally bumped into him getting a drink & almost died of embarrassment right then & there, wearing a shirt of his band & all. I felt like a tool & a half, but I still love the shirt.

If you’ve yet to join in with My Place And Yours this week, you’ve still got time, post about your favourite item of clothing & link up over here.

My Creative Space.

One great thing about heading off to the Brown Owls every fortnight, apart from hanging out with some super lovely crafty chickies, is that I will have something to share at least every two weeks for My Creative Space.

Not long after I posted about my troubles deciding on what to make for Softies for Mirabel, the solution came to me as if by magic.

I saw my gran down the street on Tuesday after she’d just left the opshop, she had a doll bed for Punk (that I had to buy off her for $2.50!) that I didn’t particularly want, it had pink & lace & if Punk never got another toy again for the rest of her life she would still have too many, but I felt obliged. I threw it in the back of the car without a second thought until it crossed my mind yesterday & a light bulb went off. Consider the above photo as the official “Before”.

So last night I start embroidering two faces for one doll. I bet someone can guess who I’m making…?

More spaces here.