I made this...

Thought I'd join in with Pip's 'Free things Friday' and have a go at winning her book! This is the diorama I made a some time ago when I participated in the Make-along with Mike Paper month. It was so much fun to make and considering I featured the book in the diorama, I thought it would be fitting for me to post it as my entry! It's also what inspired me to take the plunge and begin blogging. More detailed photos can be found here.

Make sure you check out Pip's blog and see all the other clever people that make things!

Words and Pictures - souvenir

I bought this on a holiday to Vietnam 4 years ago. I fell in love with it because it's so kitsch-y crass. I love the fake flowers and the way Buddha is floating on the fake water. Yes, that water is fake too. It's like a wierd jelly. It makes me giggle every time I look at it. It also reminds me of my amazing holiday, the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful people I met and the wonderful, creative country of Vietnam.

Make sure you check out more words and pictures here...

(To give you an idea of its size it measures about 20cm across.)

teeny square

I just wanted to share because it was so teeny and cute.  I made it tonight and it's motivated me to see if I can make a scarf out of lots teeny ones.  Of course it all rests on the condition that I don't go blind in the process.  It's very hard to see even with the new little desk lamp I bought especially for craft evenings on the couch.

And whilst I have your attention, have you checked out the squares on the 'A Granny a Day' Flickr Pool lately?  There are some sensational crochet squares out there...make sure you take a quick look, you won't be disappointed!

Words and Pictures - Rainy Days

Near Bayon Temple, Angkor Wat, Cambodia. September 2008

A beautiful day on a beautiful holiday in a beautiful country full of beautiful people. 

words and pictures - rainy days - click here to view more!

A Granny a Day

Well I just got back from a weekend at the beach. My mother-in-law has a holiday house in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, (Victoria, Australia) and it has been a long time since we last visited. The house is located not far from the back beach which is absolutely stunning.  We went for a couple of walks to the beach and my girls loved being chased by the waves and getting their clothes wet. We managed to catch an incredible sunset (see pics here) and it was great to get away from the city before going back to the daily grind tomorrow =( .  I have been lucky enough to have the last week off work so I have had lots of time to create and do the things that I never get the time to do. It's a little sad to think that I have to rewire my thinking into work mode again but there's not a lot I can do about it.  C'est la vie.

Any way, back to the topic of the post... When packing for the trip I decided that I'd better take something crafty to do in my spare time. We don't really have the room in the car to take the sewing machine and overlocker so this time I decided I'd take down some wool and crochet hooks and try my hand at making a granny a day. (Flickr pool here)

I learnt how to do granny squares at school when I was about 10 years old but pretty much haven't made one since then. My grandmother was a sewer and knitter so I never really got much practice in crochet at home. I downloaded Attic24's instructions as per Pip's post and crossed my fingers that I'd be able to follow it without needing a video tutorial.  As soon as I started it all came flooding back to me and, well, I think the photos speak for themselves... =)

All in all I ended up making 11 squares over 2 days - a little obsessive compulsive - but I enjoyed every minute.   I also couldn't resist adding a bit of glitz.  I am a sucker for sparkles, in fact nearly every cardigan I own is sparkly in some way.  It's sad I know, but  I'm a seventies child.

 

Whilst I'm here I'd also like to show my appreciation to Pip (Meet Me at Mikes) for coming up with the idea to make a granny a day (and make-along!).  When our lives are busy we either don't often have the time to be creative or end up suffering from creative-block and don't know where to start.  It's great to have someone leading the way and keeping us motivated.  Even if my granny squares end up in the "will finish one day" pile I still have these great photos (subjective licensing applies!) of mollusc grannies clinging to rocks and I have revived my crocheting ability.  It's a win-win situation.  Thanks Pip.  

Words and Pictures - Collecting

Doll display, Words and Pictures - Collections

I collect ugly dolls.  You know, the kind of dolls that no-one wants because they're a bit disheveled, unattractive or a bit on the tacky side.  I can't seem to pass by a dirty faced gaze from the bottom of an op-shop bargain bin.  They cry out to me, "I want to be loved" and I reply "Don't worry, I will love you".  Then the old lady behind the counter looks at me funny, hurriedly collects my money hoping I will leave her shop as soon as possible.  =D

Cold Feet

I decided to walk to work today. All the way from Thornbury to the CBD in the rain. It took me about an hour and a half. It was so lovely except for the fact that my feet got a little wet and now they're cold. I am trying to warm then in the window of my office. No regrets

Day One

So I have finally taken the plunge into the big world of blogging. It will be interesting to see how often I find the time to post to it. Hopefully I will be able to do it fairly often because I intend to focus my blog on things I make be it craft, sewing or cooking. Still I don't always find the time to do even those things but I am crossing my fingers that it will be often enough to make this worthwhile.

Now what got me started on all of this was a need to be able to post what I make. I recently participated in the Meet Me At Mikes 'Make-along with Mike' activity of paper for the month of March. Pip has asked people to link what they make on their blog to her website and, well, I didn't have one. So I have decided it's time and I will start off with my diorama of a 'cosy corner' which I posted on the 'Make-along with Mike' pool on Flickr.

I don't know exactly what it was that made me think of making a diorama. Because I am so busy I don't often have the time to get lost in creative thought anymore. What drew me to the 'Make-along with Mike' pool was the fact that there was a set task in place. This means that the medium is taken care of all I had to do was add the imagination. It kind of reminds me of art in highschool. You show up to class and the teacher says 'this week we are going to be doing lino prints' and off you go...and that's exactly what I did!