Friday 4 May 2012

February – Sew young!


In February, Niamh made…..
... a birthday present for Ezra! All her own idea, all her own design, made completely by herself. I am as proud of her as she is of her creation!(Oh, and Ezra loved it too...especially as it had some chocolate in it!)

Thursday 3 May 2012

January – Camping and glass painting.


We’re on to this year now….nearly caught up with the here and now! So in January we made…..
…..painted jars! We went camping with The McDowells (as in The McDowells) ….the weather was great, so was the campsite…and the company! I took a few crafty things to do (making paper, making kites, pencils, pens etc…) This was one of the activities for “craft hour”. I put a few jars through the dishwasher, and peeled the labels off. In the UK I used to use sticky stuff remover to get the last bits of glue off  the jars, but I haven’t found it on the shelf here in Australia. I can get it online, but haven’t got round to it yet. Anyway, I made do with Aeroguard which got most of the glue off! I have proper paints for glass painting, from peebo. But for the younger children, I have found that permanent markers are easier to use and more satisfying for them. So we had a mixture of ages, and a mixture of techniques. It was great lighting them up in the evening – they looked fab!

In January, I also revived my 6 month old sour dough starter, and made this.....
 
.....my best sourdough loaf yet! I used this sourdough method (I've tried a few, but I think this is the best!) I don't have a cloche to cover the bread in the oven, so I use an upturned pyrex casserole dish - works brilliantly and gives the bread a proper crispy crust. I think I'll make some more tomorrow!

Wednesday 2 May 2012

December – Fabric Vegetable Patch.


In December, I made…..



….a fabric vegetable patch for Ezra! I used Sew Hip Issue 8 to make the veggies. Then I improvised a cardboard box covered in an old woolly jumper for the “soil”. It was really just to give him something else to open on Christmas morning, but it proved to be a hit! He loved pulling the veggies out of the “soil” over, and over again! And 4 months on, it still gets played with…..and the best thing is, it didn’t cost me a penny! I only used fabric and stuffing from my stash. I love it when improvising turns out ok! 

In December, we also made…..

….clay models! We used air-dry clay, which is actually a bit difficult for a 3 year old to model, but with a bit of help from Mummy (rolling out long snakes, over and over again!) Ezra managed to make some things he was happy with....and he was even more happy with them when he had painted them blue! 


Tuesday 1 May 2012

November – Portraits and spectacle cases!

In November last year, I painted…..
 .... a child’s portrait….my child….Ezra….looking cheeky and coy! I painted one of Niamh too, but whilst I was happy enough with it that I sent it to my mum (Niamh’s Nanna) for Christmas, it wasn’t quite as “life-like” as the Ezra one. I will do another and share it with you in the future….In the meantime, I thought I’d share a painting of Niamh that I did when she was about the same age as Ezra is in this one.

This giant painting (1m x 1.30m) is in my parents loft. My poor parents have got a lot of our stuff in their loft…..it’s a reminder Mum and Dad, that we will be home in the future to clear it out for you. x

  In November, I also made a glasses/spectacle case for my Mum (so she will be able to find her glasses and see the paintings when they arrive!) 

I made up the pattern for this one. I’ll do a tutorial on how I did it if you’re interested! I got the “Internal flex frame” from the best  handbag supplies website in the world! http://www.u-handbag.com/ I used to use this website a lot when I made bags. …and she delivers to Australia! Anyway, note the improvement in embroidery (if I do say so myself!) …..I love embroidery on patterned fabrics. I just love the way it looks so eclectic… I can’t wait to do some more…


Finally, in November I made…..
 ….an illustration for my Niece Chloe. “Chloe in Wonderland”. It is my first attempt at something so detailed. I know how I would improve it, but for now I am happy. I was even more happy that Chloe liked it, and it was her FB profile pic for a while. There might be some more illustrations coming your way in the future Chloe….!

 

More creative fun