Bunting, biscuits and procrastination

My frilly bit of doily loveliness has been featured (again! yay!), this time on the madeit blog. Hmmm... perhaps I should piece together some more of them...?

-  OR  -

I could sit on my ass eating the shortbread that Ty & I made yesterday, trolling my craft RSS feeds, favouriting things, hearting things, bookmarking things, and generally avoiding the to-do list that features very prominently on my wall.

See that big bit of white paper there? The one with twenty (crap! 20!?) things to do on it? I'm pretending it doesn't exist right now.

There isn't really an easy place to start either:

'Finish quilt.' Sounds fun, but I started the thing without experience, pattern or clue, so it's still sitting over there in the cupboard, laughing at me. How do I put the back on? How do I bind the edges? Can I even find the fabric I bought for the backing? Who knows.

'Scan Rich - old pics box + album.' Woot, scanning. Tops. A whole album and a whole box full, no less. Next.

'Clear out for Vinnies'. Ah, a delicate one. Must do this in the snippets of time I can find when Rich is at work and the kids are sleeping, so he is blissfully unaware of what I'm chucking out. He's a hoarder, I'm a purger. But when the office is so full I can't actually pull my chair out from my desk, something's gotta give.

*Sigh*. Maybe I should just cover that nasty list up with more pictures of the kids.

Doily garland featured on Etsy treasury

Cheers to prettydamncute for curating this lovely Spring wedding themed treasury that just happens to feature my vintage doily garland along with a lot of other pretty stuff. Love those ballet shoes!

(Note for non-Etsians: treasuries are only live for a short period of time so if you're reading this at some point in the distant future, the treasury link will not work.)

Shameless promotion for personal gain...

Yes, yes, I'm trying to win something - HOWEVER, Kid Independent is a pretty rad site anyway - introducing me to some very funky and talented makers of lovely things who put my stuff to shame!

Check out this link to try and win a special mothers day goodie bag for yourself! (I'm especially loving these hair bands and clips and such from How Tweet it Is).

Noni and the Machine

Yeah... like Florence and the Machine, only with less talent.

I have a confession to make: I don't really like sewing. I've only just got to the point where I can tolerate sewing.

I LOVE putting together fabric combinations. Researching. Planning. Cutting, even. But not the actual sewing bit. Perhaps this aversion to actually using my machine harks back to the days of using my mum's old (30 years maybe?) Elna on which, as a budding fashion designer in my early teens, I ambitiously attempted such projects as:

- Dark red PVC snakeskin full length skirt - FAIL (I didn't use a pattern, oh no, I just figured I'd cut out a skirt shape and she'd be apples)
- Grey wide leg pants - FAIL (I sewed the ass and front pieces together backwards so that I had a puffy bit on the front of my left leg and my butt didn't fit in the right leg)
- Smocked summer dress - FAIL (didn't even start this one, mum recently found the fabric I'd bought especially for it)

And I'm sure there's quite a few more that I have stricken from my memory due to embarassment.

I used to hate that machine. I could never load the bobbin properly. Every time, I'd be asking mum 'how do I do this again?', and every time she'd say 'hold it like a backwards toilet roll.' Seems straightforward, but for some reason I sucked at it. The thing was enormous and clunky and weighed about 30 kilos. Needles broke. Bobbins jammed. Swear words were thrown.

But somewhere along the line, something must have clicked. Along with mum teaching me to sew, dad worked as a dyer at Coates, which became Australian Thread. The seed was subtly sown (or sewn?) and it has emerged now after all this motherly nestingness that I've been through in recent times.

So now, I don't see my Brother LS-2160 as the devil. It doesn't miss stitches, it doesn't jam, it doesn't leak machine oil all over expensive fabric. It's functional and easy to use and doesn't take up heaps of space on my desk. But I'm still not ready to stand up, square my shoulders, and say I LOVE SEWING.

Perhaps, one day soon. But for now, I must get back to planning, designing, colour matching. All that fun stuff. Maybe I'll do some sewing tomorrow.

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows

Just because it was a beautiful day today... some pretty etsy finds in all the colours of the rainbow. Enjoy!

Rainbow 8 pom set by SweetPoms

Rainbow wooden sorting bowls by theenchantedcupboard

European countries geography map tshirt by isotope

A colourful existence / Lobster shack in Maine print by dannyphillipsart

Rainbow Brite retro apron by PoppysGardenGate

Rainbow flower shoe clips by starzselection

Over the rainbow bag by littleoddforest

Roy G Biv knit socks by ELSLOW5

Funny bunny head needle felting kit by madebymoxie

The proof is in the pudding (or blankie, as it were)

This is Archie. He is the gorgeous little Christmas baby that my great friends Phil and Sarah were blessed with. And he has the first tag blanket I made in his hot little hand.

Sarah and I went through our pregnancies together - our due dates were just a week apart, but Archie and Holly arrived nearly a month apart!

Sarah's baby shower gift was this handmade blankie and a matching giraffe toy, and I hoped that her wee baby would be enamoured by them when he arrived.

I have had reports that he won't let his blanket go, so here's hoping it remains a favourite (and my sewing stands the test of time!).

Stop traffic with your baby (not actually recommended)

Ok, I mean stop traffic in a 'Wow, check that out!' kind of way with this funky new tag blankie I have whipped up called The Traffic Light. 

Mucking around on facebook last week, I saw Sheena from Bubbamia Fabrics in Tassie was having a live online sale, so I jumped at the chance to nab a bargain Riley Blake fat quarter set. I've used the 'Wheels Micro Dot' print on the back of this tag blanket - it's a great eye-popping dot print that babies will love to look at, with reds, oranges, greens and blues on a chocolate background.

Thanks Sheena, and thanks to Ty for modelling for me ('just hold this for a sec buddy then you can have a go of the camera').

When one has too much time on one's hands...

This is kinda useless but also kinda cool. Check out animoto to make a short funky video - of your friends, your shop, your kids, your dog, whatever. You can choose from a ton of music tracks, add photos, and create a little video.

I have just made one featuring my stuff. Yay for time wasting!

More doily love

Oooo pretty...

This garland is just the right size to brighten up a doorway now that we have entered the miserable, hibernation-inducing non-daylight savings months.

Can you tell I'm more of a summer person?   :)

Pork chop featured on the madeit blog!

Woot! I've been featured on the madeit blog as a 'mum who makes'!

Read the full interview below (or here on the madeit blog).



mum who makes :: Pork Chop
madeit.com.au/porkchop

Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Leonie and I’m a mum to Tyler, 2, and Holly, ten weeks. I live in Blacktown NSW but am comfortable being a ‘westie’! My dream is to one day open a cafe/gallery space that supports local artists however the budget won’t allow that at the moment so I am content to hide in my closet-sized spare room and get crafty.

Can you explain your craft/art and the materials you like to use?
So far I’ve been working with fabric making baby things and pretty home wares, although who knows what path this will eventually lead me to... I also love calligraphy, scrapbooking, ceramics, landscape design, graphic design, dyeing, beading, sculpture and loads of other things, so I’m hoping the process will be quite organic and I will eventually find my niche quite by accident!

How long have you been creating and how did you get into making handmade goodies?
I’ve been crafting in some sense ever since I can remember, and am constantly drawn to creative roles, spaces and people. I’ve worked as a copywriter, founded a boutique marketing firm, done mindless admin, cleaned hearing aids, made sandwiches, sold safety glasses and headhunted staff but nothing makes me as happy as just sitting down to sew, draw or paint. I’m hoping that by building a small business making quality products, I’ll eventually be able to sustain my soul as well as my bank balance.

How do you juggle motherhood & crafting/managing your business?
With great difficulty!! Seriously though, being organised is super important, as well as not having an expectation that you’re going to be able to create when you want to. We all know how unpredictable kids are so being able to go with the flow is imperative, and when you do find those precious moments when both kids are asleep at the same time, pack in as much as you can! I have a little to do list stuck to the fridge, and its full of enjoyable things – the washing can wait!

Do you have any advice to other Mothers who are wanting to start creating handmade goodies?
Don’t expect everyone to be supportive and say things to boost your confidence, especially your friends and family. My husband comes up with such gems as ‘you’ll never make any money from sewing’ and ‘wow that’s great’ (loaded with sarcasm). He’s my toughest critic! But if you don’t believe in yourself nobody else will, so when people ask what you do, say with confidence ‘this is my business’, rather than a sheepish ‘uh, this is kinda my hobby’.

Front and centre!

Woot!

My vintage doily garland has appeared in the very first spot on the MadeIt homepage.

Here's a link if you like it  :)

Managing the wet patch

...the baby dribble wet patch that is. Holly has just got to the age where her chin resembles Niagara Falls so I have run up a few dribble bibs for her. In the process I discovered that cotton drill seems to work really well as a backing so there will be more bibs in the store soon when I buy some non-khaki-poo-brown coloured drill (although the khaki did go well with her pink sakura print).

At the moment there are two of the original double sided cotton variety in store - a fabulous graphic black & white number print backed with red polka dots here, and also a sweet Michael Miller Dick & Jane print one here. Both only USD$5!

Not sure I'll be close to the computer over the weekend, so a wonderful relaxing Easter to all! And happy anniversary to us... Rich & I met on April Fools day, how appropriate!

I heart blankies

I love blankies. Especially special blankies, like the one Ty has. It's blue polar fleece, boring as, constantly covered in fluff and bits of toast, smells like crap, and is way too big to be practical. But it's still sweet. Especially when he shares it with his sister.

I am, however, hoping that Holly will become attached to something marginally more attractive (and more sensibly sized). So, I have made her a tag blanket - black and white skull polar fleece + pink zebra print cotton + purple dinosaur applique = AWESOME!

I am hoping she will think so anyway. Most likely she will vomit on it in disapproval.

I have four other blankets available that for US copyright reasons can't be sold via Etsy, so I have listed them on MadeIt - links below...

Zen Blue
Rainbow Reef
Mondrian
Little Moo

All I want for Easter...

Check out this for an Easter treat - all I have to say is... NOM NOM NOM!!!

Feeling a bit reflective again:

Today I love
The smell of: the last vestiges of summer
The sound of: water balloons breaking
The taste of: Ferrero Rocher
The sight of: Ty playing in the fountain at Rouse Hill
The feel of: Holly's super soft arms

Good things about today
- I got a sleep in
- My root canal work is finally finished
- I had two sleeping children by 8.30pm
- Having the house to myself with Rich at the footy
- I have resisted the temptation to open the second box of Ferreros in the fridge

A very vicious Easter

Have you thought about giving Carlos or Elroy as an Easter gift? Here's why you should!

- They won't melt
- They don't contain 90% saturated fat
- Eggs are soooo 2009
- Your gift will be the most memorable
- Bunnies love you forever
- Handmade = AWESOME!

A 'tweet' little mobile for Holly

I finally got around to finishing this - a bird mobile for above my daughter Holly's cot. She is 9 weeks old today and still in a little crib in our room which is quite plain and bare. So, I brightened it up with some of my birds - 3 little ones, a big mumma & some fabric leaves, all strung together with sticks, wool and ribbon.

It appears to have passed the test; Holly seems to enjoy watching it twirl in the breeze....

(UPDATED 24TH MARCH):

....and it has only taken Tyler seven days to break it. Nothing that can't be fixed though!

Vintage doily bunting - with thanks to Shirley Thwaite a.k.a: Nan

Here's my pretty vintage doily creation - complete with a sweet story behind it (visit the shop to read it).

It was a sad day when we had to clear out Nan & Pa's things. They had lived in their little house in Robyn Place since before I was born and I have so many happy childhood memories with that house as a backdrop, so much so that I felt compelled to make a scrapbooking page for Nan so she'd know I appreciated hanging out with her when I was a wee kiddo.

New in store: what is this going to be...?

Not telling just yet!

I'm working on some lovely projects with doilies... should be available for sale in a few days.

For now, happy Friday to everyone and go the Eels! We're off to the first game of the season. Hubby is VERY excited. He has been counting down the sleeps till tonight's Parra v Dragons game.

Expectations... shifted

Today, I have officially accepted that Tyler no longer needs a two hour nap in the middle of the day.

This much-dreaded day has been looming on the horizon for months, however something surprising happened today after I woke up and steeled myself for twelve straight hours of toddlerdom - we had fun. We had a really nice day. I wasn't cranky; he wasn't naughty; we just had a great day.

I think the thing that made this so is that I wasn't expecting to get my eagerly awaited 'me-time' after lunch, and therefore didn't get frustrated when I had a little man wanting to play hide and seek at 2pm when I'd been trying to get him into bed since 12.30.

We didn't have any plans - all we did was buy tiny obscure sized batteries for a zillion different toys that had been silent for months and have now been reanimated. We played with trains, we drew, we did craft, we read books, we watched Yo Gabba Gabba, we used his slide as a bowling ramp, and just generally had a beautiful relaxing day.

The author of another blog I frequent posts a short list of things she is thankful for each day, and being in this reflective mood, I'm inspired to do the same.

Today I love
The smell of: grass
The sound of: Holly's first cooing noises
The taste of: Tyler's half eaten banana
The sight of: Ty sharing his blanket with Holly
The feel of: A summery breeze - perfect, perfect weather

Good things about today
- I enjoyed my children instead of just trying to get through the day
- Richard and I had a very brief but rare cuddle on the lounge
- I got most of the housework done
- I was able to get some sewing done before 10pm
- I had a healthy lunch of rice cakes and tomato

Ssssssuper etsy finds

So I'm looking around my little office / storage room / herp room* / general dumping ground trying to think of an interesting search term to inspire an 'etsy finds' post... and I look over to our two pythons watching me coolly as always from across the room. Here's some lovely finds with a nod to Rumble and Station. Enjoy!

Ball python soft sculpture by weirdbuglady

Suede python bag by limilovesbags

Tangerine snakeskin bracelet by unearthed's shop

Snake art print by thailan's shop

Jake's python by nixonillustration

Python snake skull pendant by mrd74

Snakeskin jasper rondelle beads by yakutum

African python and elk corset belt by stacyleigh

Red snake crew tee by cypressink

*WTF is a herp room you ask... herps = herpetology = snakes  :)

Fabric of the week - Dig It (and a rant about my storage crisis)

This one is for my wee man... Michael Miller's Dig It.

I'm coveting this storage basket from baffinbags on etsy but would need about ten of them to tame the bomb site that is Tyler's toy shelves (in the meantime I have just received this gorgeous snack bag in the post from greenstreetbags. Ty loves it!).

Anyway on to the storage issue, I have just taken care of the 'small bits' storage with some little plastic modular workshop bins that my hubby was ditching from his work van. Now we have a basket each for trains, matchbox cars, men and tiny craft pompom balls (he loves them, or rather, loves throwing them far and wide and picking them up with tongs).

It's the big storage that I can't seem to get my head around in his room. To make matters more complex, Ty's room will shortly become Ty and Holly's room, and will be full of yet more crap, ahem - 'precious possessions'.

Dammit, we just need a bigger house.

Small people are the best kind of helpers

 

Here's my little man Tyler giving me a hand with putting together a tag blanket. Actually he is just fascinated by the 'bubba balls' ie: round pin heads, and managed to play quite contentedly with my pincushion for a good fifteen minutes without stabbing himself (which is more than I can say for yours truly!).

Fabric of the week - Queen Anne's Lace

What is it about this series of prints? Jane Sassaman's Prarie Gothic collection is everywhere you look and should therefore be totally not cool, but somehow it still holds my interest.

This particular print, Queen Anne's Lace, reminds me of the scene in Silence of the Lambs when you first see Buffalo Bill's basement moth breeding operation - kinda foreboding and ominous with a quiet flapping of wings making the hair on your arms stand on end.

Maybe that's the appeal? Usually quilting fabrics are described as 'pretty', 'modern' and 'bright', not creepy and dark and associated with serial killers. Who cares, I just love it. So far I have only made a little dress but have half a yard still to play with...

Hola! Mi nombre es Carlos!

Carlos has arrived! Check out the shop to learn more about his antisocial personality disorder.

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentines Day - I scored a lovely silver snake bracelet from my hubby but only because he felt he had to buy me something because he was buying our 3 week old daughter Holly a sweet little butterfly bangle. He reckons V day is a bit of a crock invented by Hallmark and he tells me he loves me every day so why should he just celebrate 'us' on the 14th February and blah blah blah rant rant rant.

Anyway, my effort involved a mildly amusing poem about how we really don't get along and mostly can't stand the sight of each other, and a Moroccan chicken tagine which ended up a bit apricot-chickeny (didn't have any dates so I used prunes and dried apricots) but was still pretty damn good.

The next bunny... dismembered

Here's a sneak peek at the next fang bunny before I put his pieces together... can you guess what he'll look like when he's done? Neither can I, I'm just winging it!

Fabric of the week - Lady Yang

I am loving this... Alexander Henry's 'Lady Yang'. It is out of print now, so yes, I am a bit slow, but I can't bear to cut into the little fat quarter that keeps working its way to the top of my fabric stash bag.

Any thoughts as to what I can create with it that results in the smallest possible amount of offcuts? I don't want to waste any of it!

My little surprise has been blogged by the Toy Society :)

Click on this link if you're interested...

The Toy Society: Drop #938

My first Toy Society drop

I can't remember how I stumbled across The Toy Society, but after reading their blog I was immediately inspired and motivated to make my own little toy to leave for an unsuspecting child to discover. What a bloody beautiful concept - spreading love through handmade toys, surreptitiously left in public places for others to find.

I wanted to have a go myself so started off with something small - one of my giraffe baby rattles. I left him in a local park (however I would have preferred to take the toy home and leave my son there on this particular morning; you will note the small cranky boy in the background having a tantrum because I didn't pack the correct assortment of snacks. Shame on me.).

Fingers crossed that my toy is found! I'll be keeping a keen eye on The Toy Society's blog.

RAWRR! Fang bunny wants brains

Well this little guy, Elroy I have named him, turned out ok for my first attempt at sewing 'sans pattern'. He is an original plushie that I made by chopping up some lovely magenta Joel Dewberry fabric, and I think he looks pretty good!

Will there be more of Elroy's relatives popping up in the store soon? You bet!

Although... I'm kinda hoping he won't sell as he is the perfect replacement for my much loved Jeero Ugly Doll. Jeero was unfortunately left tangled in a hospital sheet a few weeks back in the post natal ward at Blacktown Hospital following the birth of my beautiful baby girl Holly Raine. Hopefully Jeero has found a nice new home - I miss his cushiony softness! :(