Sweet Fabric:
music box

Finally back online! It seems our disconnect had nothing to do with storms & everything to do with the Foxtel guy. Apologies for not popping in to say g'day last week.

In the space this week I have the beginnings of a custom music box order. It's really all about the music box at the moment...I've got 5 on the go this week. I've really enjoyed the stretch with this one. I've used a comination of water colours & freehand machine embroidery to achieve the look that the customer was after.

Visit my favourite creative space ever right here. It's a really special one...go...go...go.

Just a little housekeeping note...I've ditched JS Kit. I'd received a number of emails from people having trouble loading the site & more & more of you seem to be having trouble commenting so I'm back to bloger which in my opinion is just about the worst commenting system going around. We'll see how it goes. I think I'll miss the chat.

Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

& heading to Canberra with Shannon and a few Aunty Cookie music boxes too.

"You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run"

I'm so running ... running from the disaster that is our abandoned life in the old house & hoping that The Date & The Smalls might have everything done by the time I get back ... I fancy myself as very clever.

I'm excited about...

- catching up with Nan.
- just worrying about myself.
- laughing.

See you here or on Sunday here.

Hot
-Red
-Finishing up & posting Music Boxes. My music box shop.
-matsutake I think I'm going to like it there. Found via whipup (also pretty hot).
-tinkering around with a bit of html.
-Fiona's puppy for softies for mirabel.

Not
-Red
-Electricity taking up to FOUR weeks to get connected! What is up with that?
-too many hours kneeling on the floor, sitting at the sewing machine & typing on the keyboard. All this makes for a pretty creaky OLD me.

More of what's hot & what's not over at Loobylu.

It's been a while since there were any music boxes in the space but it's just like riding a bike.

See...circles in the music boxes too?

Visit last week's favourite space here.

Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

I've finally managed a little shop update.

I've pushed myself beyond my normal "warehouse" comfort zone & actually put a few of the music boxes up in the shop.

I've been making quite a few online purchases lately & keep checking in on a few of my super favourite girls in the hope that they might announce a shop update & allow me a little piece of their crafty action.

Today, I've taken the lead from the wonderful "storefront" girls I've been buying from & I'm hoping the aforementioned might follow.

There is a selection of tradional windup music boxes & MP3 ready versions too.

Music Box Shop

The fabric used for this music box is by Melbourne fabric designer Lara Cameron.

Have a wonderful weekend.

I'm working on a little music box shop update but I want to make sure that the pictures tell the story.

Do you see the speaker below the "floor" of the music box?

Why I think these are good...

Music and/or stories have been excellent sleep cues for my smalls.

I like the idea of using a "superseded" piece of technology in a new way.

I'm proud of the fact that the speaker & the MP3 player can be used outside the music box.

Happy weekend.

A mixture of vintage, thrifted and lovely Melbourne girls (Lara & Shannon) too.

Music boxes: MP3 ready & traditional windup too.

I'll be the noisy one at Mathilda's tomorrow.

A selection of my finest produce.

The hexagon faker fabric is my weekend favourite.

Hope your weekend has been relaxed and lovely.

Finally, the MP3 music boxes are reaching the point where I am totally happy with them.

I had a flash of brilliance (or maybe not - you decide) on the run a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be lovely to read a favourite story and save the MP3 file onto the player. I took this idea one step further & have recorded the letter I wrote to the big girl the week after she was born.

I wasn't really sure about it but I gave it to her & when I came back to check on her I noticed her now 12 year old eyes were filled with tears. She absolutely loved it! I think this is a "treasure forever" kind of thing & only wish that I had the idea when the smalls were born. I would have written a letter every year & by now she would have 13 letters to listen to.

Maybe I'll write a little retrospective for each of them...

I'm wondering if you guys can help me out with the whole music box caper?

If you were to buy a music box would you prefer:

a) Traditional wind up
b) MP3 music box with MP3 player & speaker
OR
c) MP3 music box with speaker (& wire) only. This would only be an option if you already owned a shuffle or pebble sized MP3 player.

Thanks in advance.

in progress.

I found that my cheat sheet wasn't that helpful. I've re-written now & the making is getting faster.

Loving this fabric made up as a music box.

sleep tight.

Tin can music box made for PANDAs good night - Night Out Night Off. It plays Brahms Lullaby.

Posted (late) to Ms Cookie.

All my babes went to sleep with plinky plunky music playing in their rooms & Lullaby is my favourite.

I'm so pleased with my MP3 music box. I do love the wind up, plinky plunky version but this is something quite special, I think.

The Story
Someone contacted me via the website to ask if it would be possible to have a music box which played The Cure. I did a bit of research & found nothing. Then another person asked if they could have an original piece of music added to a music box.

I got to thinking & originally purchsed one of those "record your own" greeting cards. It wasn't at all satisfactory. The quality was terrible and you could only record about 20 seconds.

Then I wondered about making a little pocket for an iPod or MP3 player. There is also a speaker below the "false floor" of the music box. The wiring is all hidden in the lining and both the speaker and iPod/MP3 can be used outside the music box. The only element that is fixed is the wiring.

I did manage to break one speaker trying to force it into my standard size music box. The final version is 800g tinned tomato size.

So...a couple of casualties, much swearing & back to the drawing board moments, but I'm thrilled with the end result.

I'm also grateful to people who ask questions & push a bit.

Today I saw Handmade Nation! This documentary was so beautifully put together & just an absolute joy. It's made me want to spread my crafty wings a little wider & made me proud to be a maker of things.

In the true spirit of handmade this music box is constructed entirely by hand. There are numerous steps involved in the making & each one is taken purposefully. The only new component used in the construction is the music maker.

I hadn't planned on sharing any of the finished music boxes I've been making in the last couple of weeks. I thought you'd all be bored to tears with them, but this one's a goodie.

This box was a "something special". The order came from a wife for her husband's birthday gift. She told me that he was into tech gadgetry & music. I loved making this. I was given the opportunity to stretch myself a bit & I'm really very pleased with the end result. Embroidered detail is a mouse wire that I stripped & then stitched into the base cloth.

PS: Hoping to catch up with all the my creative space posts tomorrow.

It's cleaning day (which I'm not a fan of). But I love the smell & sparkle of the eucalyptus at the end.

So now I shall sit on my nice shiny floor tonight & finish off this music box.

Quite a few friends have given birth lately (all have had girls).

Gifted this week.

Spearmint & pink music box which plays "dance of the sugar plum fairy".

One of my neighbours from childhood had a little boy recently.

I set about making a music box for him just like this one. I stained & printed the fabric. I lovingly stitched & assembled all the elements. Once complete, I imagined how this little gift might be treasured in years to come by a sweet little boy named Harry.

Then, just as I was about to wrap...something made me hesitate. I came downstairs & trawled back through the inbox only to discover the baby's name is HENRY!

So might I suggest that if you're expecting, that Harry is an excellent name for a boy ...

This was gifted yesterday.

Constructed from: tin can, coffee dyed sheeting, upholstery sample & music mechanism.

See more of my music boxes.

& today is the last day to enter the giveaway.

I wasn't planning on posting til this afternoon. Just popped down to check my email & found that my pants kicking mate had stopped in with a gentle nudge. What's a girl to do?

I know I've talked before about the run & ideas. It's when I get my best ideas & when I've got time to quietly mull them over & decide if, in fact, they are good ideas or just flights of exercise induced fancy.

Sooz's thoughts on ideas got me thinking a bit more & I thoroughly enjoyed the post it notes inside Pea Soup's brain (much like my own). Surely, I can't keep all those post it notes in any logical sequence. I don't run that fast but probably fast enough to lose a post it note or two. I need to devise a better plan...

...in the meantime I'm beginning another music box. It's just like the first one I made.

The coffee staining of the stash fabric is complete & the printing done too. Now I just need to get cracking on the assembly.

Truly, it's all about the little things...growing babies, ideas, & just about everything else.

These lovely girls helped me out:

Drewzel, Jodie, Hoppo Bumpo, The Tiny Girl, Kate, Curlypops, Jenny, Teddy Bears Wednesday, Alexandra, Claire F, Sarsparilla Sue, Christie

Thank you girls for your contribution. I tried really hard...maybe too hard. Not quite finished but near enough for the pic.

Anyway...I hope you like it.

I've decided to give them both away...

One of them I've just drawn from the list of names above...the winner is Alexandra.

& the other is now up for grabs. Just comment on this post if you'd like to be included & I'll draw it on Monday.
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Paul Kelly gives me goosebumps too.
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