Sweet Fabric:
reverse art

We saw a lovely knitted shrug in Sunspun. Of course, I'm more a fan o' the hook & decided I'd have a crack at my own.

I've been doing a bit of sampling with the hook but before I wasted time on the crochet version I refashioned from an Op Shopped/thrifted Pashmina type thing to make sure I had the measurements right.

Very much in the same vein as the slashed number.

I had planned to use the circles as a neck treatment but it seemed a bit too much.

& of course it can still be worn as intended.

& then figure out how to make it with what I have on hand.

Are you passionate about this too?

Please add your link below. I'd love to see what you're up to!

I picked up a setting of 6 (very ugly) placemats from the Op Shop/Thrift store during the week. The upside of them being so ugly is that they were cheap as chips.

Now I've made reversible covers for them. I did a bit of free motion text last year & frankly found it took me longer than embroidery by hand. I'd decided 'twas best left to the experts.

But as this "design" is pretty simple I had another go & I'm thrilled to say the least! If you've no idea where to begin with this sort of thing you should pop in here.

One side for fun & the other a bit more fancy. Best of all they can just be slung in the washing machine when they get a bit grubby.

I think these would make meal time fun for kids if you had a novelty print on one side & the plate on the other. Easier on the eye than anything you can buy at Kmart.

If you don't have any luck at the Op Shop I think that Bunnings &/or Spotlight sell MDF circles about the same size.

just the right size for a small bottom.

We've got a bit of a love of stools at our place. Often the three kids & I are found sitting perched on little stools in front of the gas fire.

This little toad stool is constructed from a tin can, a round placement & the foam from the other day as well as a little extra stuffing. The can has been weighted to keep it stable.

For the price of a few screws & a couple of hours of your time you could make one of these yourself.

A lovely gift idea I think.

There's a lot I should/would/could be doing at the moment. I've got a fair bit on my plate but true to form I'm working on something new (& a bit cute). If it works I'll be making them for Christmas presents for small folk.

This foam was picked up at reverse art a few weeks back. I've hacked into it & this is what remains.

OK, so I didn't anticipate such a favourable reaction to yesterday's shelves...thank you so much.

Now I'm going to look like a big fat show off & for that I apologise.

On Saturday the HAC girls & I were chatting about making stuff & cool crafty tools & Justine & Cindy were talking about a lazy susan cutting mat that a friend (edit: ack...apparently it was Kate's - clearly my mind had already wandered) had. I think there may have been a casual "challenge" thrown in for good measure...red rag to a bull.

So on Sunday morning I made the lazy susan using bits & pieces we had lying around the house... old placemat, laminex top (I think from an elfa storage system), old container lids, my trusty baby bosch, a couple of screws, bearings & this divine fabric from the lovely Clutterpunk to give the whole thing a lovely crafty feel.

It measures 450mm x 300mm so it's big enough to hold the next size cutting mat as well & best of all you can use your multi tasker on the table top & then you have a lazy susan ironing board.

No more deep squat & turns for me...I prefer not to mix my craft & exercise.

OR fitting a square peg in a round hole.

I had originally purchased only 1 tube to make a toy box for the smallest...it kicked around the floor of the craft room for a while & I'd done nothing with it.

All the while I'd been enjoying posts from this tumblr.

http://bookshelves.tumblr.com/

...then I got to thinking how they'd be wonderful as a bookshelf & that's what I've done. I've left the tubes natural & just given them a bit of a sand to remove the rough edges but I think it would look lovely covered in vintage wallpaper.

The tubes are held together using the webbing I picked up at Reverse Art Truck. I've just cut to size to make straps with velcro fastenings.

The real beauty of this "shelf" is it's versatility. You could put them together in any configuration you like & possibly incorporate other pieces of furniture to make interesting shapes.

Once we are in the new place I plan to hang a couple of them on the wall.

Don't you think they would look fabulous painted white & jam packed full of brightly coloured yarn?

You must have a look at this amazing set also constructed from sono tubes (with how to).

Edit 27 September :: I just visited Style Spion (one of the sites that links to this post) & followed links to much flasher & more designery type shelves similar to these. You can see them here & here. Just goes to show...nothing is original & girls who just like to make stuff can have designer type ideas too.

More from reverse art truck. I love that place.

How good? Metres & metres of webbing.

The Brown Owls girls stitched up a storm last night. We added embroidered detail to those notebooks from yesterday OR made a "soap saver" (thanks Ashley) tea bag.

We applied the embroidered patch with varnish & then coated the top too.

They make a great little gift & Flossy P - they do look good covered in fabric or with paper/card detail too.

I didn't get to the making up of my stamping efforts from yesterday because I did this instead.

For ...

Maya

With...

Hope you have fun.

How To Simple Stamp For Fabric PrintingView SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

To view this tutorial at full screen just click the little screen icon above.

I have a PDF version of this how to for lacing card style printing on fabric which can be downloaded here.

I'm starting to think about Christmas...Yikes!

Early I know - but I really don't want to be making gifts on Christmas Eve this year!

I've made myself a little stamp. It's leather stitched (laced really) & then printed onto calico. I've printed 20 little "Tea" stamps.

I'll be working on the making up tomorrow.

Jess is hosting a week of wonk at mikes.

I'm going to make something wonky this week.

I'm not entirely sure if true wonk can be achieved if you're trying...we'll see.

The foundation for my wonky project is this piece of the blankets I opped last week. I think it fits the bill perfectly.

Wonk is not just about physically lopsided and wonky things. Wonk is a state of mind, an emotional state, a fear perhaps or vulnerable spot. Jess

a pincushion badge.

You may have noticed I've become a little pincushion obsessed lately. I'm not sure what it's all about...only time will tell.

I thought of this on my run the other morning & giggled for the remainder of the run. It appeals to my sense of humour. Maybe it might give you a giggle too.

I quite like the idea of the little badge but sadly the fabric isn't "self heal".

This is the loveliest pincushion - ticking several of my boxes.

1) it's red
2) it's a toadie &
3) it's a pincushion.

& she's having a custom order giveaway. Yep...you get to choose - she's super good.

It's amazing what a pretty drink & a warm spot on the floor desk can do for a girl.

She's finished. She'd fit right in across the road from my favourite shop & I'm sure she'd be best friends with this really lovely little girl.

Free hand embroidered with wool.

Germinated from me thinking that all those scrappy practice granny squares would make pretty adornments for babushkas.

Just the right amount of wonk too.

I'll be making more of these...most satisfying.

As per usual all op shopped materials.

This bag was made as a long overdue birthday gift for a very special friend. She's been waiting patiently & I'm finally ready to gift it.

You might remember the fabric. Selvedge notes: Robert Kaufman(?) Screen Print 3855 Boomerang Beat. One of my best op shop finds ever!

All components of this bag were purchased from various op shops. The embroidery floss came from my stash.

I know I've banged on before about how much pleasure this sort of crafting gives me, but honestly it's true.

I really want to keep this for myself - she's going to have a fight on her hands.

PS: Yesterday's post was supposed to say that my gorgeous sister made an entire pillowcase wardrobe for her sweet as anything little girl. I was also going to say how proud I was of her & how thrilled I was to have given her a hand...

Sorry about the total abandonment of the post...sometimes the heart wins.

Edited to add:

A few people asked about the how. I'm really sorry but I'm not ready to share my process. It's very much a work in progress & a pretty organic sort of construction. There's no pattern cut. I just get all the materials together & go for it. Maybe one day, but not yet. I hope that's OK.

The original was inspired by a bag made entirely of leather strapping by Danny Seo (which I've tried to find via Google & can't), as well as these tooled leather bags which my mum had in the 70s.

I will leave you with a quote from my hero found via his interview with Victoria Everman.

"The simple truth is that I think of what I want, then use what I've got on hand to make it".
Justin "Scrappers" Morrison

I've thought about this daily since I read the interview.

Elsie found the Danny Seo bag. Thank you Elsie.

Paul Kelly gives me goosebumps too.
.

just waiting for the glue to dry so I can finish off another tin can music box.

I really love making these - they give me such pleasure & thinking of all that lies ahead for the little people that will own them gives me goosebumps.

Just an aside: fellow tin can crafter posted today about her recent makings from vintage pillowcases & she shares my love of little people. Maybe I've found her.
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1. P1010005, 2. P1010003, 3. P1010002, 4. P1010119, 5. P1010116, 6. P1010115, 7. P1010114, 8. P1010111, 9. P1010108

SNAPits from my week.

Market Fresh Produce from my Grocery Store.

All items hand cut, hand mixed & hand sewn from waste product.

I'm sure you'll never guess who this was made for.

A sausage dog bag...

in various states...

of undress...

(because some occasions are just wee bit serious to be toting a sauso around with you).

Made from Op Shopped everything for the Sausage Dog Queen & Moca.

lots of produce from the Kootoyoo grocery store.

Justine received my gift. My obsession with all things mushroom means that the mushroom pincushion is my favourite item.