spaceman

New cards! I'm loving this spaceman... I think he will take flight beyond the realm of paperworld onto men's tees. I'm hoping to do this in the next week or so once I get some more tees for printing.

owl, pinnied.

I have had some pinnies cut out, and for far too long grazing at the bottom of the 'to be sewn' pile. Today I pulled them out and finished sewing them, printed on an owl and... there it is! *sigh* along with a screaming, tantrumming child who needs to be dealt with, now. This post is being cut short... ah yes, the joys of motherhood.

Mao always finds the best spot to hang out... usually in my sewing room. When she's not in the chair, she's hanging out on the window sill. During winter, she becomes a real house cat, and searches out any piece of warmth.

...regarding the cards from yesterday- they didn't make it out for sale yet. I was about to put them into cellophane when I 'read' what I'd made. I do think that the idea of hidden message cards is pretty funny (as suggested by Curlypops and LittleEcoFootprints)! Though I think the ones bellow... hrm. Maybe not!!

best to look first

I've been making a lot of cards lately, production line style. The problem is, when I'm making stuff like this, I don't always look as closely as I should - which really is a problem when you use the pages of dictionaries. At a glance, they don't look so bad. But look a little closer at these. Oops. Not really greeting card material!!

my creative space

On the creative front this week, lots of sewing, printing, and card making. I think I had kind of lost my way with the creative side of things, or more to the point, creating the creative stuff! So this week, I have been madly making. It's been good. Ideas have been given shape, and I am feeling re-inspired.I've made these 'heart me' fold over skirts - they're off to Olive Grove tomorrow (if you follow this link, the shop is looking very different now. It's had a bit of a makeover, and has lots of new stuff in store).Also in my space, gorgeous handmade wooden buttons. I took some more cards and badges into The Friendship Tree the other day, and couldn't resist buying them.Op shopping today, I bought a bunch of vintage books with really tragic covers. I love them. I have future crafty plans for these. The cover of this one is classic. Inside, it covers all the essentials like 'artificial sex' and 'how to make people like you'. A must read for any modern teenage girl!!To have a peek into the creative spaces of other people, visit Kirsty over at Kootoyoo.

hoot!

Last time I posted I was whining about screen printing and my apparent inability to produce a screen that worked. Well! I have discovered what I was doing wrong. Turns out it was simple, and should have made sense. I was coating the screens too thickly with the emulsion. It makes sense that they should be coated thinly. Maybe I was a bit nervous about pressing too firmly on the screens...? Anyway, now that I think I have my problem pretty much sorted, I need to make a real effort to get some designs happening. I need to keep practicing. And the whole 'stop dreaming, start doing' thing is kinda relevant too...So anyway, here's the little owl I've been drawing and gocco-ing over the past week or two. Little owl has now made it onto the screen after three attempts. Thank god I got some good pointers, or I would have ripped my hair out if I had to strip and coat that screen yet another time. So now I'm feeling all owl happy, and I want to get this little guy onto some tops. Thing is, though, I only had two kids tees left, and they've both been printed on already - as you can see! Until I get some more tops, I think I might finish sewing a few pinnies I have on the go, and dress them up with little owl.(tu-woo!)

my creative space

I was hoping that for this weeks 'my creative space' I'd be able to show you some new prints. But alas, no. I have been having a LOT of trouble properly coating my silk screens and getting the exposure right. I know it's not rocket science. But something, some part of the process, is eluding me. Am I coating it too thick? Or WHAT!! (I want to screeeeeeam!)Deep breath. So instead, I have been sewing up some cowls. I've been using vintage wool which has been slowly accumulating it the stash. I'm happy with how these are turning out. With a bit of playing around, you can wear them lots of different ways. I took a few into the shop this morning when I tried to expose some screens (arghhhh!). I'll take a few more in to Olive Grove tomorrow, as it's my day to work in the shop.

Have a look at some more creative spaces over at Kootoyoo.

about a cup of tea

I was looking through some of the photos I have taken over the past few months or so, and rediscovered pictures I took from the pages of a 1960's Brownie's book. I love that there is a badge dedicated to learning how to 'make mother a cup of tea'. I wonder what the contemporary equivalent would be? How to operate an espresso machine? ;o) I can't see too many people dragging out a teapot for tea these days. Maybe I should. Right after I whip up this little cover for my Mum's old teapot.

last bastion?

I grew up in Mallacoota, which is a beautiful place in Far East Gippsland. We lived in a mudbrick house, one of the last on the street before Bastion Point Beach. I spent a lot of time as a child on that beach, swimming, playing, and exploring the rockpools. I spent time crabbing and prising mussels and oysters off the rocks, and we often ate crayfish or abalone caught from there. As a mother, I've enjoyed watching my boys do all the things I enjoyed so much as a little girl.I've just heard that a huge development that locals have fought against for so long is set go ahead. I can't believe it. Those rocks are going to be blasted and the area 'upgraded'. The boat ramp that recreational and professional boaters (the town's abalone divers) have shared for decades is apparently not good enough. Not even to have low impact repairs. The Minister for Planning has gone against recommendations from his own inquiry and has approved a development that will have a huge impact on the marine environment, and will only benefit a handful of people (commercial divers) versus the larger percentage of the community (about 85%) who oppose the development.It's been argued that this development will enhance tourism. But you know, one of the main reaons that people visit Mallacoota is because it's not overdeveloped. It's a tiny town, surrounded by National Park. People go there to be in that environment. To enjoy nature. To visit beautiful untouched beaches. Not any more. This really saddens me. And it really pisses me off!

house envy

Today's been a day with not much creating. Instead I've been out and about with the boys, doing some gardening, and also lapping up all the inspiration that Blogland has to offer. It constantly amazes me what people come up with, and how gorgeously people decorate their homes. I can't remember how I got there, but today I discovered Door Sixteen. Wow. Her house is so beautiful. It's well worth spending some time looking around her blog to see how she puts things together, and where she draws her inspiration from. Simple, but so beautiful. I love these two pictures. I would love to try and print something myself with a feel similar to the wall paper in these pictures. Especially the first one.Living in a rented house, I wouldn't be wallpapering anything in a hurry, but it's look great on a big canvas or something you could take with you. Or, if you have the moula and the inclination, buy some here and get wallpaper happy! Oh wow... in looking through the FermLiving website (where the woman from Door Sixteen buys her wallpaper), they have some awesome stuff! Look at this page for inspiration!

This could turn into a long and rambly post as I follow links and go off on tangents while taking you with me, but maybe it's better that the kids are dragging me back into reality... Back to my own wintry house that right now is not bright, open or spacious. Back to the trashed carpets and undone dishes. Back to a world where bright white open spaces won't work. Certainly not with three boys, muddy boots and football season.

*sigh*

my creative space

My creative space this week is covered with cards. The owl has been gocco printed, and one has been listed in my etsy shop. I am thinking that I might make some of these up into packs of five. I've really enjoyed making these cards. I always seem to get bogged down in sewing, so it's nice to be doing something else for a change.Wanna see more creative spaces? Go visit Kirsty over at Kootoyoo and see who else is playing along.

owl's fight

Yesterdays owl has had his first adventures... a bit of fine tuning, and a blast of bright light in the gocco. I'm planning on printing him up tomorrow as cards. Getting him onto a tshirt is going to take a bit longer. I love the immediacy of gocco... screen printing is unfortunately a little different!

tu woo!

(I'm blaming this blurry image on the weather!! So good to have rain, but it doesn't do much for photographing!!)

A day that was originally dedicated to sewing turned into a day dedicated to other things... my partner and I took ourselves off to see Star Trek - which was so good! If you have enjoyed watching Star Trek in the past, you need to watch this film! After watching the film, I drew this little guy over a coffee. I might try either gocco-ing him for cards, or doing him up on a screen to print onto kids tees. Maybe both? It feels like so long since I've burnt any new gocco images or exposed a screen for fabric- I'm itching to get printing again!

woolen zip help, please!

My last couple of op-shop trips have uncovered a couple of sweet handmade vintage woolen skirts. Both were a little small, so I thought I would alter them. The first, the blue one, was easy to unpick and let out the seams. I thought putting in a new zip would be easy, and it was. The only problem is that I chose to put in an invisible zip. It just doesn't sit well. Is there a way to put in an invisible zip in a woolen skirt that makes it lay flat? Or are regular zips best in wool? I really want to know! I want to wear these skirts, but not if the zips are going to make it look like there's some unusual shaped protrusion coming out of my backside!! Any advise would be very welcomed. (please!!)

on being eight

I am amazed that my biggest small man is going to be eight tomorrow. How did that happen? Eight years earthside for him, and eight years of mamahood for me. Wow. He's been busy with his part preparations today... cake decorating, making his party bags, and thinking about all the other good things that come with being eight.

But before that, his dad and I are off to see Tex Perkins and his Ladyboyz tonight. It's not often that we get a chance to go out, so we're a bit excited! ;o)

disaster averted!

I made some soap the other day... something which is usually not too hard. I set everything up before I started. I measured all the essential oils, and had them ready to go. Then at the point where the lye and the oils were at the same temperature, I realised I didn't have the blade for the stick blender out. So while I was trying to keep the soap moving, I was fishing through the (very messy!) drawers for the blade, and managed to spill all the essential oils! Arghhhhh! That stuff is expensive! Especially the patchouli. I'm glad I had enough left it the container, and in the bottle, that the soap wasn't a failure. This soaps a real blend... it has patchouli oil, orange oil, freshly ground coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and alspice. I also put through some almond meal. It smells great... am looking forward to testing it in a months time. The little Japanese girl is a childhood treasure that I've had forever. She used to sit next to a beautiful Japanese woman in a kimono that my grandpa brought back for my auntie after the second world war. I'll show her another day. Happy Friday!

my creative space

What better day to dive back into the land of blog than on my creative space Thursday? It's been nice to have a bit of a break, but nice to be posting again too. My crafty space has a fair bit going on... lots of pairs of pants in varying stages of completion, stacks of soap, and piles of cards. I thought I'd show some cards today... much nicer to look at than piles of denim with random loose threads! I've printed lots of these cards in the past, but never in gold before. At first I felt unsure about how it turned out. I wasn't sure if the hair made too big a block of gold. I think adding a bit of the skirt paper to the hair kind of mellows it out a bit. At least that's what the intention is!Go and visit Kirsty over at Kootoyoo to see who else is opening up their creative spaces for us to see. :o)