Sweet Fabric [Search results for Wood] 

Woodish Loveliness

1. ACEO- She wore Beauty Brown - Original fabric/colored pencil on wood art, 2. Live stump, 3. rabbit companions flee scene, 4. Green Room Sketch- print of original drawing on wood, 5. powerful books, 6. Wood slice

I know I said I was going to get out the rotary cutter this weekend but I got a bit carried away with some organic stencilling.

Claire's gorgeous spray job & the promise of that wonderful patchwork skirted girl as well as Anna Laura's recent Mary Jane shoes have been racing around my already jumbled brain for a couple of weeks. Then I came across this mud stencil.

The recent wood obsession - a simple stencil design of my muse & I was away.

The Mud Stencil genius has a how to on his blog here.

This is what I did -

Cut: the stencil. I used a laminating pouch. It worked really well. I probably should have left it there but I laminated it. It buckled a teeny bit but there was no way I was going to cut it again. I just went for it. I told myself it would need to be tough to handle the mud!

Next: mix the mud. I just dug up a bit of dirt from the garden & mixed water in until it was sort of a bechamel sauce consistency.

Stencil: the design onto the timber. I used spray adhesive & that did the trick with the first stencil.

I did a couple more onto watercolour paper which worked OK but I didn't wipe the stencil or reapply the adhesive (& I got a bit too confident). I probably should have done both those things (& kept my ego in check).

All in all I'm pretty happy with the way my organic stencil turned out.

Here's the how to for my wrist cuff. This cuff makes an excellent gift & is a fairly quick & easy project.

You should be able to pick up vinyl off cuts from your local hardware or flooring shop.

Obviously you could stitch text or basic images using the same technique. Just be careful not to make your design too detailed...you'll drive yourself crazy.

How To Make a Wrist Cuff - faux wood & embroidered.View more presentations from kootoyoo.

- You can pick up the print friendly PDF tutorial here...
how to make a wrist cuff

I'm planning on doing more "how to" posts this year. I've made myself a rule ... but it's a bit early to say if I'll stick to it. I really enjoy making them & it's all about keeping me motivated.

OR maybe you'd like to come to a HAC workshop to make it with me? If I get enough interest I'll go ahead.

Date: Saturday 6th February 1-5pm
Venue: Balwyn TBC
Cost: $55 includes all materials & refreshments
Email: to register your interest kootoyooATgmailDOTcom with HAC 6th February in the subject line.

Well my family of Matryoshka is finished.

I'm pretty happy with the result. I embroidered the faces before I glued the fabric & the embroidery to the timber matryoshka.

They look pretty good with the exception of the small who looks like a cross between an evil warrior & a pineapple.

It's really hard to embroider on a circle so small. Next time I'll do the embroidery before I cut the circle. I've begun a new obsession thanks to this project - Wood.

I've been looking at woodish loveliness as well as some truly magnificent art over at Geninne's Art Blog. It is one of the most special places I've visited. Do yourself a favour & go here. To see her beautiful birds on wood follow this link & scroll down to the 2nd of February.

High 5 to Pip for this.

5 favourite thoughts, which turned into clicks, which turned into more thoughts from this week.

1. It's all about the pincushion & as a result I've found...
2. Namolio ... just beautiful, beautiful pieces.
3. Crochet doilies. I'm really quite obsessed - I think it was the refashion of the chair...
4. which leads me to wood & specifically the burning of wood.
5. I've been thinking about cushions for my couch too. Check out this lovely space.

I think it's finished. I haven't used the white...I thought maybe it might be too much. What do you think? It was made using the off cuts from the e.a.t lights I made for the kitchen last year.

Yesterday I worked on this in the sweltering heat & ate my weight in Cyclones & Lemonade Icy Poles.

I'm planning more of the same today. I've got some more faux wood embroidery plans & a "how to" for this cuff on the way as well.

diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both
and be one traveller
long I stood & looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth
then took the other,
as just as fair & having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy & wanted wear...

excuse the inaccuracy of my memory but you get the drift.

Not one to make New Years resolutions - I prefer to make it up as I go along.

But I do want to make sure that in 2008 I choose the road not taken more often. I've found the rewards to be plentiful when I've trodden this path in the past.

I don't mean to sound like someone from a bad reality show but ... it really is all about the journey

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

mean it.

I like it over there - they get me thinking & just at the moment I'm really enjoying the free flowing thoughts & ideas at make & meaning.

More faux wood embroidery. I'm obsessed...I'm breathing, dreaming, running & "zoning" this stuff. I love it!

“The Lodge” is a disused church camp with about one hundred acres of bush attached to it.

Our “more front than Myers”* mum has negotiated a lease arrangement with the owners of “The Lodge” and the bushland. She pays them an absolute pittance and in exchange we get full use of The Lodge and the bush. We build a holding yard so that our ponies can sleep overnight when we are up for the weekend. We renovate the bungalow and fill it with our belongings, we construct elaborate air riffle ranges with old cups and plates and cookware from the old kitchen.

It’s every kids dream and we have to pinch ourselves every time we drive through the gate.

As we approach the gate there’s a heated discussion about who will be on duty. It’s raining hard and it’s warm in the car. I “win” and haul my oilskin coat on before I dash out of the car to the gate. I wait for mum to drive through and then quickly close the gate and leap back in the car.

Mum stops the car but leaves the headlights on so we can see to light the gas lamps. We all rush into the bungalow. It’s absolutely freezing and the three of us are jumping up and down on the spot to keep warm. Mum sets to work unlocking the storage cupboard and pulling out all our belongings. She lights a couple of gas lanterns and finds that the mantels need replacing on a couple more. She leaves us with one primus and instructions to make our beds.

We roll out our sleeping bags and grab a blanket each. It’s going to be a really cold night. Once everything is organised in our room we drag on our gumboots and prepare ourselves for the mad dash over to The Lodge. We hold our primus up high and see that mum has created a fairly crude bridge system over the puddles in the wood shed.

The puddles and the bridges are negotiated easily and we open the lodge door to find the fire roaring. Mum’s had to rearrange some of the furniture to avoid the drips coming through the rusted roof. There are already a series of puddles forming in the sawdust floor. We are confined to our carpet square for the night as the rest of The Lodge is dotted with soggy sawdust pot holes.

We all head straight for the fire to toast our bottoms. The three of us stand too close to the roaring fire watching mum replace gas mantels in the half light and listening to the rain on the tin roof. We talk sleepily about how much fun we are going to have tomorrow and how full of tadpoles the swamp will be.

More rainy day stories here.

* for non-Australian residents: More front that Myers

We all know I'm a huge fan of just about anything "on wood" but I had no idea just how much I was going to love the crochet table cloth hacked & tacked to a couple of pieces of thrifted furniture.

Things are coming together quite nicely in the new house. If you've had a peek inside my place you'd notice that there was only a tiny patch of our bedroom photographed. We've been looking for something nice & skinny for the TV to sit on. It's in an awkward place because it's very close to the ensuite door.

I'd picked up this glass fronted cabinet at the Op Shop (for $5) intending for it to be hidden in The Date's office & reserved for his "straight to the pool room" golf trophies & such. It looked ridiculous & he pitched it out into the hallway earlier in the week. I seconded it for this maybe temporary maybe permanent fixture in the bedroom.

I'm not a huge wrap for the basket shelves (which came out of this unit) I've fashioned below & prefer a more open look. I've got another idea for that (which will hopefully still hide the power cords). I'll keep you updated.

While I had the glue gun out I worked a bit of crochet magic on this sweet chair (also Opped for the princely sum of $5).

Beautiful floaty images by Bricolagelife.

So I think I've managed a pretty nice bedroom makeover for under $20! Unbeatable value & my very favourite ... reused, repurposed, recrafted, upcycled.

If you fancy having a go at this yourself it's just super-easy-thrown-together fun.

You'll need...
double sided tape, spray adhesive, hot glue gun, a thrifted crochet table cloth ($2-$8).

For the cabinet...
Using double sided tape create a frame on the inside of the door (as close to the glass as possible).

Then...
Rough cut the table cloth to size. Keep all the motifs intact at this stage.

Now...
Expose the double sided tape & position your crochet piece.

And...
Use your hot glue gun to more permanently adhere the crochet piece.

Finally...
Trim away excess fabric so that everything looks nice & neat.

Repeat for the other door.

For the chair...
Rough cut the table cloth to size. Keep all the motifs intact at this stage.

Then...
Spray the wrong side of the tablecloth piece with spray adhesive.

Now...
Position on the chair.

And...
Use your hot glue gun to more permanently adhere the crochet piece.

Finally...
Trim away excess fabric so that everything looks nice & neat.

I'm so happy with my Tinny Op Shop finds this Thrifted Tuesday.

The puppies, kittens & birds tin will hold a birthday gift for this lovely girl & the other is for me.

It's an Allens Peter Pan Toffee Tin & labelled "Woodcut" which fits in perfectly with the recent obsession with all things wood. It looks a bit Clarice Cliffesque don't you think?

for crafty pursuits lately. The image above is me faking it til I make it!

The lovely Ingrid has posted recently about being a craft fraud & I admit I feel the same way this week. I can't crochet or knit much either but it's just unfinished business I'm referring to.

I've been at work lots & being a mum lots & that hasn't left much spare time.

I've got a list a mile long of things I want to finish up:

my broomstick needle project.
my use what you have project.
something for this girl.

Plus a whole host of other stuff which is overdue.

I'm supposed to be cleaning the house tomorrow but I think I'll sack that plan & have a crack at finishing off a few projects that have been hanging around for far too long.

The date & I went to Maybe We Have Met Before at Kick on the weekend. Sean Morris's illustrations on wood were right up my alley. If you haven't been you should - it's good.

& yay hooray Brown Owls tonight. I've missed those crafty souls. See you tonight.

Usually we have burgers at home, but on the rare occassion that we do get takeaway burgers we go to Grill'd. They make the best burgers ever & instead of "gifting" a piece o placky rubbish the kid's pack comes with a packet of pencils...brilliant.

After our last burger night I let the three little packets of pencils hang around on the kitchen bench for a few days & then snaffled them for a little crafty project I've got in mind.

I'm shaving them down a bit & I confess I'm not as patient as a I should be & keep taking deep chunks (rather than nice curls) out of the wood.

a teeny tiny apple pendant.

Snapped on newsprint for scale. I like it - I think I'll take all closeups on newsprint from now on.

I'm not sure about the silver chain. I wonder if the same leather the stalk is made from might be better...

I'm all appled out. This will be the last for a while.

More apples from me:

happy apple
mud stencil on wood
tinned apple
& the fabric print from yesterday.