Wonderful Wednesday - Blue & White

I love to experiment...

... with colours, fabrics and textures. I am very close to finishing an experimental scarf that has knitted and fabric elements. It is on my list to complete this weekend. The only hint, so far, is that it has a lovely blue and white fabric element. Hence my inspiration for this week...blue and white...

Beaded necklace by 'Beads63'

The pattern on the beads in this necklace caught my eye. They look beautiful. These beads are made out of polymer clay and are quite unique. At the moment I am on the look out for interesting beads for embellishing necklaces and hair pieces that I am creating. These beads are lovely!

Post It Note Holder by 'Leah's Paper Passion'

This is a marvellous gift idea. A beautiful, decorative case that houses a 'Post It' note pad. It comes with a little pocket that you could place notes, vouchers or a gift card for a special person in. This is one of many of the beautiful designs available.

Heart mobile by '1000 Pretty Things'

I love the use of the same colour scheme (blue and white) using various fabric patterns.  I also love the look of the same shape, repeated - very effective. This would add a decorative touch to a country kitchen or lounge. It could also be given as a gift for a baby shower.

Hand knitted blanket by 'Plushka'

I love knitted products and I appreciate the time and effort put into them. I love the different hues of blue, combined with the white and the use of various stitches in this blanket. A lovely gift for a new baby.

 I hope that it provides you with some inspiration :)

Monday in the making

I do as much craft as I can during the week, however, I love spending an hour or two on Friday, Saturday and Sunday working on various projects. I have the time to really sink into them...
...however, I was fairly flat on the weekend and spent a lot of it sleeping. So, I didn't finish all the projects that I hoped to finish.

One of the projects that I did finish off  were some cards that were on my list...

Once again, I have delved through my photo stash and found two photos - one of the Grampians and the other of a farm paddock. For the photos on the card on the left, I added some colour around the edge of the photo. On the paddock photo, I added a film effect that made it look like it was on an older type of film - it reminded me of the 70s.

On the list:

• Finish of my scarf project.
• I would love to stitch up another bear.
• A tutu order - first to source some lovely pink tulle.

Thanks for viewing :)

Weekend Wonders

I am a 'list' person...

...I have a plan in my head (or on paper) about all I want to achieve each day, and the same was true for this weekend. However, I have been a little flat. I ended up sleeping for a lot of Saturday afternoon/evening and throughout Sunday. The good news, though, is that I am feeling SO much better - ready to face another week.

We did do some travelling on Saturday to catch up with family and usually travelling equals knitting for me. However, I think that I ended up knitting all of one row and the rest of the time I slept. I have had a few busy weeks and weekends that my body refused to do anymore. I am glad that it is starting to cooperate again now...

The bad news, was that I didn't get a lot of projects completed. I did complete a few during the week and I photographed them today. I will show one of my completed projects on tomorrow's blog post.

Thanks for viewing. I will chat again tomorrow :)

Friday Thoughts - Grandparents

Today was 'Grandparents Day' at work today...

...it was great to see the children so excited about showing their special visitor the classroom and to spend some time together completing activities. It was wonderful hearing and watching the interaction between the children and their visitors - the children proudly explaining items and routines, while the grandparents patiently listened and helped out with the completion of activities.

It reinforced one of the ideas that was promoted in a conference I attended yesterday - that humans are built for relationships. Right from the moment of birth, children are learning from the interactions between themselves and others. It even affects physical growth and brain development. If interactions are positive, loving and nurturing, the children positively grow and their brain develops into a healthy state. However, if interactions are negative, abusive and neglectful, the child's brain fails to grow into a healthy state due to the state of trauma and stress. This in turn, effects learning and their view of the world.

But what made me smile about today were the positive interactions: smiles, laughter, hugs, one-on-one valuable time, listening ears, positive and encouraging words. These grandparents (whether they knew it or not) were helping their little ones grow in a healthy way.

What activities did the children complete with their grandparents? Well...

• they coloured in a picture of an older vehicle.
• practiced cursive writing.
• drew themselves on a 'penny farthing' and decorated a border (see above picture).
• matched older items with their modern counterparts.

 I hope that you have a lovely weekend!

Wonderful Wednesday - Up-cycling

'Up-cycling'...it is a bit of a modern word, but it is one that I have taken to...

When you are 'up-cycling' something, you are re-using it in some form to make something more worthy or valuable; to make a better product. Lately, I have been having fun 'up-cycling' t-shirts and turning them into different tops or accessories, hence my theme for this week's inspiration...up-cycling!

Bucket hat by 'Fine Fred'

This gorgeous hat is made out of up-cycled trims and denim. I particularly like the lace trim. The final result is a beautiful hat that has a vintage feel to it. Lovely!

Dog softie by 'Vintage Chenille'

Toys can also be made out of up-cycled fabrics. This little dog is so cute, made out of a pure wool blanket. That would make it extra cuddly! I love the pink bow collar.

 Cassette desk caddy by 'Red Zebra Designs'

It is not purely fabric that can be up-cycled, rather, it can be any item! I think this pen holder appeals to my retro side as I grew up with 'cassettes'. Nothing like waiting for your tape player to fast forward to your favourite song and then needing to rewind because you went to far...yes, patience was more prevalent back then. However, as cassettes are now practically obsolete, what a great way to reuse them in a practical way. This caddy would make a unique gift.

Bag by 'SjSmith'

This bag is made out of a jumper. I love how the original knitting pattern of the jumper is used to make the decorative sides of the bag, complete with buttons. Once again, a very practical idea to something that would have been discarded. That is the beauty of up-cycling...it is also good for the environment as materials are reused to create new and exciting designs.

I hope these ideas inspire you!

Monday in the making

Things have been a little slower than normal in the workshop...

However, after catching up on a few work items, I have had a bit more time to experiment with a few new ideas. This is one of them...

Created out of upcycled t-shirt material, this neck adornment consists of strands of material and embellished with roses made out of the same material, with a bead stitched in the middle. The strands are different lengths to add a fuller look the necklace. This necklace has a rustic and shabby style to it...

These upcycled creations are definitely 'one of a kind', however, it just happens that this necklace matches up with the shrug I made earlier.

On the list:

• Cards!!! I have lots to give away to friends and family, so I need to get going...
• Finish off one of the scarves I have been knitting: I have finished knitting a scarf and have blocked it...now to add something special to it...

 Thanks for viewing :)

Weekend Wonders

It has been quieter weekend...

...Mr T was away this weekend for work. Usually when he is away, I seem to turn into a junk food eating, untidy and lazy person. However, this time around, I was extremely self controlled. I am unsure where I had a surge of self control, but I cooked myself healthy meals (and cleaned up afterwards). I didn't even sneak in a little treat in my shopping trolley when I went shopping! I cleaned the house and even went a little beyond my 'usual weekly' clean. Stranger things have happened I suppose...

I did do some craft this weekend. I have made up another experimental 'Tupsy Tee' product (which I will show in tomorrow's blog post). I really do need to make up another batch or two of cards, but as mentioned in previous blogs, I have been using my own photos in my card making. On Friday night I frustrated myself as I was looking for the 'perfect' photos for my cards and spent an hour or two, purely browsing my albums on my computer. I felt frustrated as I thought it was a waste of time. I had to leave it and work on another project. Hopefully when I sit down to make them tomorrow, the 'ideal' photo will make itself known to me.

Thanks for looking. I hope that you had a great weekend!