tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35337872478041618722024-02-19T02:04:07.237+00:00Crafty Ady"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands...."
1 Thessalonians 4:11Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-58225872228647074282016-04-10T22:25:00.001+01:002016-04-11T19:26:31.493+01:00Making very large paper flowers<p>At the start of the Easter school holidays, Missy Moo told me that for her holiday school homework, she had to make a big colourful paper flower. All the kids in her class were tasked with making large paper flowers for a spring display at school.</p>
<p>A browse through Pinterest drew us to Linda @ Craftaholics Anonymous's <a href="http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/rainbow-paper-dahlia-flowers">Rainbow Paper Dahlia Flowers.</a> Linda has a great tutorial there for making these gorgeous paper dahlias. Missy Moo really liked the look of Linda's gorgeous paper blooms so we decided to try our hand at making flowers like these. We thought we might do them slightly differently from Linda - sort of like putting our own little spin on it. I thought you might like to see what we came up with so I took some photos as we went along to share our process with you.</p>
So here's how ours turned out.<br><br>
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Here's another one we made.<br><br>
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We started with A4 coloured paper and cut our sheets into 4. So we ended up with A6 rectangles of coloured paper. Like Linda, we wanted to make three rings of different coloured petals. Our outermost ring of petals used between 16 to 18 A6 rectangles. Our second ring of petals used between 12 to 15 A6 rectangles of paper and the third ring used about 9 to 10 pieces of A6 rectangles. Incidentally, we also used some crepe paper but I will come on to that later.<br><br>
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For speed, I decided to staple my petal tubes instead of using glue. So here's what we did. Have a look at the sequence below please. Those black arrows in picture 1 are just for illustration purposes! You don't need to draw those on yours, ok? If you brought those two arrow-marked corners towards each other like I did in picture 2 and made a tube or cone with a pointy tip like I did in picture 3, you would be able to slide the stapler into the cone and stick a staple in there to hold the cone together (picture 4).<br><br>
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We stapled the bottom of each cone too.<br><br>
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We made up all the cones we needed. For the outermost ring of petals and the second one, the petal cones were left just as they were. For the third ring of petals, we needed the cones to be about an inch and half shorter. So we cut the ends off and stapled the bottom. You can see the three colours of petals in this next picture. Note that the cream cone has had the end cut off so it's shorter than the other two.<br><br>
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We now need to make the base for the flower. I cut a 6 inch diameter circle from some cardboard. <br><br>
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Here is another sequence of photos for you. In picture 1, you can see that I poked two holes into the cardboard circle. You really don't have to be very precise with these holes. Halfway between the middle and the edge will do. I then took a 6inch piece of pipecleaner and fed the ends into the holes like you can see in picture 2. Fix the ends with some glue and a bit of sticky tape (see picture 3). This little curve of fuzzy pipecleaner wire forms a hanging loop for hanging your flower up later. On the same side as the ends of the wire, mark out some circles roughly in pen. (See picture 4) I marked out a circle about an inch and a half in from the edge and a second circle roughly an inch inside the first one.<br><br>
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So we have our base and we have our three sets of petal cones. Now comes the part where we glue it all together. Ready? Ok. I have a cool melt glue gun ... And I also have a hot melt glue gun. I love both my glue guns equally. This part is a lot easier if you do have a glue gun. Missy Moo wasn't very confident using the glue gun so I did the gluing part whilst she stood by and handed me the petal cones one at a time. Using my glue gun, I stuck my first set of petal cones down along that first pen line I drew onto my base (picture 1) and just kept going all the way around (picture 2). <br><br>
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Then I glued in the second set of petal cones following that second pen line on my base. Each one of the second set of petals sits in between the petals from the first set. <br><br>
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Finally, I glued in the third set of petals. These are the stumpy ones that we had cut the ends off. <br><br>
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There was now a hole in the middle of our flower that needed filling. We cut a 3 inch wide by roughly 3 feet long piece of crepe paper. Our crepe paper was quite thin - almost like tissue paper. Missy Moo scrunched the crepe paper up like this ... <br><br>
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I then glued this along the edge of the cones so we got a frilled ring going all around the middle.<br><br>
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Missy Moo made a frilly disc for the middle of our flower. Here is how she did it - brace yourself for another sequence! She cut two A4 sheets of paper lengthways into thirds. So we had 6 strips. She folded each strip lengthways (1). She then carefully made small cuts just halfway down, all the way along the folded edge of each strip (2). When all the strips were cut, she rolled one of the strips up (3 and 4) and when she got to the end, joined another strip in with a bit of sticky tape. She just kept going until we got to the end of all 6 strips. This left us with a little crown like the one Missy Moo is holding in her hand (5).<br><br>
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We glued this flower crown into the middle of the crepe frilled circle to complete our paper flower.<br><br>
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There you have it - a gorgeous larger-than-your-head paper flower. You can make these in whatever colours take your fancy. <br><br>
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We thought they might make fabulous fascinators or fancy hats. Here is Missy Moo modelling our lovely flower which looks like it could be one of the amazing millinery creations that race goers might wear to 'Ladies Day' at the Royal Ascot races. What do you think? <br><br>
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We hope you've enjoyed this photo tutorial and will have a go at making your own giant paper flowers. Happy crafting, friends!
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-91033794485210919842016-04-07T18:55:00.000+01:002016-04-08T12:24:52.281+01:00Happiness is a self-made dress that actually fits!Hello everyone! It's been pretty busy here at Chez Craftady. Hence the lack of postings of late. Sorry! I hope to make up for it very soon with a neat little tutorial of a paper flower the girl child and I made recently for her school Easter holiday project. Anyhow, I wanted to share with you something I made for myself recently. It's been a while since I made myself any clothes. I had the Simplicity 2444 pattern in my stash for some time and finally decided to pull it out after seeing all the lovely versions out there on the Internet.
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It's a Project Runway pattern with lots of different options and variations. I decided to go for the sleeveless. I have had this particular fabric in my stash for a year. I bought it last summer intending to make a dress with it but never did. Aren't the flamingoes adorable?
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Instead of using facings, I decided to line the whole dress with a navy coloured lightweight poplin. This meant making two of everything .... Except for pockets. The bodice is fitted with four darts on the front and two in the back. The skirt is lovely and wide with darts at the waist. Best of all, it's got pockets!!
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I really took my time with this one. I made the lining of the bodice first and used that as a toile to make sure it fitted. I had cut a straight size 16 out of the packet. There is a zip at the back which went in surprisingly easy.
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I am very pleased with the finished dress. It fits, it's comfortable .... It has pockets! See? What do you think?
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I was so thrilled with it that I just started cutting out a second one. LOL! With summer approaching, it would be great to have a couple of new dresses for work.
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It's Friday soon. Yay! Do you have any nice plans for the weekend? I am going to try to get some more sewing in, then I have market on Saturday morning and Missy Moo and I hope to finish the tutorial and post that for you next week.
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Until next time, happy crafting!
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-42074781878996754212016-03-04T23:24:00.000+00:002016-03-05T06:21:11.603+00:00Getting ready for Mother's DayIt's Mother's Day in the UK this Sunday - actually to be more precise, it is Mothering Sunday. At Wythall & Hollywood Country Market, producers like myself are getting ready for tomorrow's market where we will be showcasing all sorts of wonderful gifts for mums, nans and grannies. There will be activities for our younger visitors too. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to attend in person. There's an open day at work which means that my team and I are going to be on campus looking after our visitors. I am however, sending my craft goodies in to market ... goodies like these lovely things celebrating mums, nans and grans. <br />
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I also made a few boxes like these ...<br />
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Mothering Sunday is traditionally a Christian celebration here in the UK - falling on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three Sundays before Easter. During the early 1900’s, young children who were ‘in service’ as household servants, were given a day off to accompany their mothers and family to attend the ‘mother church’ - a large church or cathedral - rather than the local chapel that they would usually attend for Sunday service near to their place of work. The children would pick wild flowers on their way to this special service for decoration within the church or to give as gifts to their mothers.<br/><br/>
Although fundamentally Mothering Sunday was much more of a religious event than anything else in those days, the essence of giving was still apparent. Today, we give beautiful gifts of flower bouquets, cards and chocolates. I personally love giving something handmade. Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day has become so very commercialised and so much more lavish than those simple wild flowers. However at the very heart of it, I believe that the gesture of giving is the same. We celebrate our mothers, thanking them for their endless support and guidance, just as those boys and girls did back then.<br/><br/>
I will be thinking of my lovely mum on the other side of the world, sending loving thoughts and missing her lots.<br/><br/>
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Whether you are celebrate Mothering Sunday this weekend, or Mother's Day in May, wherever you are, have a wonderful weekend, friends.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-37857527412779469622016-03-03T12:57:00.000+00:002016-03-03T12:57:32.773+00:00That old adage of the apple not falling far from the tree.Some 10 days ago, very randomly, the 13-year old Dinoboy casually asked if I would take him to buy some spray paint cans. Now I instantly thought "Oh, he wants to have a go at graffiti art." So I prodded some more and asked a ton of questions. After several monosyllabic replies to my inquiries, he eventually said that he didn't want them for graffiti art and that he just wanted to have a go at spray paint art. Also, he intended using his saved up pocket money to purchase said cans. I have to admit, I was initially a little skeptical.<br />
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Off we went on Saturday to scope out a couple of specialist spray paint shops in the city. He went in asking for a very specific brand of paint. He had obviously spent some time researching this online. When the chap in the shop asked "So you've used those paints before?" and got a "No" from Dinoboy, I got a raised eyebrow look from the chap who then proceeded to try to steer Dinoboy towards more 'beginner' paints. Dinoboy was having none of that - he knew what he wanted and his mind would not be changed.<br />
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We left the shop sans cans since they didn't have any of the ones he wanted in stock. So we traipsed on over to Hobbycraft where he bought 4 pretty pricey Plasti-kote cans and some foam-board to start with. I had decided I wasn't going to interfere - it was his project and he obviously knew where he was going with this. We got home and he went out into the back yard to set up his new stuff. I left him to it and went off to do some chores.<br />
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When I came back some hour and a bit later, he proudly showed me this.
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I was stunned to say the least and he was so proud of what he had achieved - so was I! It was the first time he'd ever picked up a spray paint can. Pretty awesome first painting, right?! Once he started, there was no stopping him. Here he was the next day making more art. </div>
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This is his piece from Sunday afternoon. His second ever painting. He'd gathered a whole bunch of supplies, raided the recycle tub for pot lids and took possession of my old painting palette knives and sponges.</div>
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So far he's done 4 paintings - the third one was a bit of a dud because he hadn't accounted for a slightly faulty cap. It is very encouraging to see him pursue this creative outlet. I have so far steered clear of experimenting with his cans - I want this to be something he 'owns'. This is his art. </div>
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Here is the last one he did just the other day after he got home from school. He did his homework first, then headed outside with his box of supplies to paint. He was still outside when I got home from work. I believe he is only going to get better and better with practice. I am hugely proud of his initiative and his obvious talent. </div>
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I hope this interest continues. He was talking the other day of possibly selling some of his work to pay for more cans of paint. His sister has already bought a foam board with her pocket money and has asked him to paint something for her. <br />
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I hope your week has been going well. The weekend is almost upon us, friends. What are you up to this weekend? I will be at work instead of being at market this Saturday as we have an open day happening. Until next time, happy crafting!
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<br /></div>Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-40124626340752579542016-02-22T06:22:00.000+00:002016-02-24T20:02:51.211+00:00Amour armoire - dreams of lovely storage<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I had not heard of Chairish before. So when they got in touch with me to see if I'd be interested to have a look at their website and maybe share a few crafty storage ideas, I was both intrigued and delighted. Little did I realise how much time I would spend browsing the site! Oh my! There is a ton of really great stuff there. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><a href="http://www.chairish.com/" target="_blank">Chairish</a>, for the uninitiated, is an online site that offers a rather special social shopping experience. They facilitate peer-to-peer selling and buying of vintage items like furniture, accessories, jewellery and decor. On their website, Chairish say that they make it "fun and easy for design lovers to buy and sell vintage furniture and decor to one another." But here's the other big thing - Chairish only exclusively features curator-approved items. This provides a safe and trust-worthy environment for both buyers and sellers. Pretty neat, right? On the one hand, I am gutted that Chairish isn't operating in the UK yet - on the other hand, I can totally see how Mr Craftyady (and my purse) might heave a massive sigh of relief for now.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Here are a few things I have found there which have great potential for being terrific craft storage.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Armoires are gorgeous vintage cupboards with heaps of potential to be repurposed into craft storage. There are many excellent examples of armoires on Chairish <a href="https://www.chairish.com/collection/armoires">(check out their collections here)</a> like these lovely Asian-inspired ones ...</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">... Which can be turned into wonderful storage like these ones I found off Pinterest.</span><br />
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Via <a href="http://inmyownstyle.com/2010/06/my-studioffice-part-2.html" target="_blank">In My Own Style</a></div>
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Via <a href="http://www.jensnaturalkitchen.com/cooking-up-some-crafts/">Jen's Natural Kitchen</a></div>
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Via <a href="http://www.itallstartedwithpaint.com/new-year-new-me/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ItAllStartedWithPaint+(it+all+started+with+paint)&utm_content=Google+Reader">It all started with paint</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Mr Craftyady and I have been thinking about undertaking a renovation project on our house and expanding on some of the space we currently have. Missy Moo could do with a larger room now she's growing up. We've talked about how the expansion could also incorporate a craft space for me. All the talk of possibilities has got me dreaming of storage for all my craft related stuff. And boy, do I have a LOT of stuff!! There's sewing stuff, card-making stuff, pyrography stuff, art stuff, leather-work stuff, chainmaille stuff ... Seriously, there's tons! Right now, most of it is stashed away in clear plastic boxes up in our loft and I have to pop up there ever so often to get something I need. I'd love to have an armoire to meet my storage needs ... And a space to put it.<br /><br />
Do you have a craft room? What's your favourite storage item? Have you ever repurposed anything into storage for your craft supplies?<br /><br />
Until next time, friends, happy crafting!</span>
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-80435970551750403852016-02-20T07:20:00.000+00:002016-02-20T07:20:17.840+00:00Ain't modern technology great?!At work, one of the departments bought themselves a laser cutting machine. I was invited to view it and was offered the opportunity to use it during my lunch hour if I wished. I did have to provide my own materials and bring along a compatible vector file that the software could use to direct the laser to cut.<br />
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I had been playing around over the past few days with a couple of freeware packages that can turn jpeg files into vector files that the laser cutting machine could read and use. Finally yesterday, I was able to get some time on the machine. I had drawn up a simple five petal flower outline with a hole in the top of one of the petals. The idea was that it would be a flower tag.<br />
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Here's what the first run through using my flower vector file produced. Aren't they great?! I am so excited!<br />
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Using these lovely tags, I was able to make these last night for our country market craft table.</div>
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This new resource has so much potential and I have so many ideas rattling around in my head of other things to draw up for the laser cutter to cut for me. So excited!!</div>
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Well, it's Saturday - country market day! Yay!! I am off to pack my boxes up for market.</div>
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Wherever you are, have a lovely weekend, friends! </div>
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-69489284524416721682016-02-18T06:28:00.000+00:002016-02-22T10:42:50.462+00:00Rejuvenating my red Swedish clogs with a bit of burningOnce I had discovered how much I loved flexing my crafty muscle all over my new tan Lotta From Stockholm Swedish clogs (see previous post), I decided that my trusty old pair of red Swedish clogs (also from Lotta) needed a bit of rejuvenation. I sanded down the heels a little to clean them off and get the surface ready to burn on.<br />
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I found a little bird design in my collection of carving patterns. I believe this is a Lora Irish pattern from one of her collections. I had to modify the pattern to fit the wooden heel of my clog.</div>
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I cut a piece of tracing paper the exact size of the heel surface I wanted to burn on. This way, I could adjust the positioning and make sure the final pattern was exactly how I wanted it.
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Once I got the pattern paper exactly right, I taped the corners down with a bit of tape and started to transfer the pattern onto the wood.
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I wanted the birds lined up exactly in the middle.
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Then the burning commenced. Burning on the heel of a shoe is a little tricky - especially when working around the curved part of the heel.
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Those little birds turned out super cute, don't you think?
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I've fallen in love with these lovely red clogs all over again. Can't wait for summer so I can wear them. There's something really special about red shoes.
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Hope your week has been going well. The weekend is almost upon us, friends. What are you up to this weekend? I will be at our little country market on Saturday morning. I will take some pictures and share them with you in a future post. Until next time, happy crafting!
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<br /></div>Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-33026446960679317942016-02-15T07:42:00.000+00:002016-02-15T07:42:25.522+00:00The summer I took to burning my shoes .... literally! I love Swedish clogs. Absolutely adore them! I watched Carrie Bradshaw strut her stuff in some amazing Swedish Hasbeen high heeled clogs and desperately wanted some. Unfortunately, my wallet didn't quite stretch to proper Hasbeen prices. Fortunately though, I encountered a lovely company based down in Twickenham who offered some lovely Swedish clogs at more modest prices. I bought my first pair - in a delightful red - from Lotta of Stockholm, some three years ago. Even got them off the seconds sales which was even better. They are super comfy and a favourite summer wardrobe staple.<br />
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A few months ago, during the summer of 2015, I bought myself a second pair of clogs from Lotta. A delightful tan pair with lovely 7 cm heels carved out of a pale Swedish alder wood and vegetable tanned leather uppers. See? Aren't they lovely?<br />
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The more I looked at them, the more I felt the urge to do something to them. I mean, look at all that gorgeous pale wood. These shoes were just screaming out for some Craftyady attention. So I dragged my pyrography machine out and decided on some burning.<br />
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I played about with a floral design and drew it onto the lightly sanded heel. Once I was happy with it, the burning commenced.<br />
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I was incredibly pleased with the finished results. After I was done, I rubbed a bit of olive oil into the wood to protect it (it's what Lotta recommended) and they were ready for an outing.<br />
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I wore them to the summer graduation ceremonies where I stood for a few hours watching my students graduate following their years of study at the university. They were so comfy and they looked really nice too. Always a bonus! Here's another photo of the clogs on my feet - not the best photo ... It's really hard to take a decent shoe selfie!
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Once I had done my first pair of Craftyady customised Swedish clogs, I was hooked! Remember how I said in the beginning that the very first pair I ever bought from Lotta were red ones? I decided that they needed the Craftyady treatment too! I'll go find the photos from that project and tell you all about it in my next post.
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<br />Until then, have a great day, friends. Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-33893562234558730072016-02-14T08:18:00.000+00:002016-02-14T12:55:17.904+00:00To market, to marketSome time around October last year, my friend invited me along to a country market that she is a member of. "You should join," she said. "Your crafts are just what we need." So armed with a box of my 'produce', I went along and met the members of the Wythall & Hollywood Country Market.<br />
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"What's a country market?" I hear you ask.<br />
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Well, the country market I am a member of is part of a larger group called Country Markets Limited. It's a cooperative limited company which coordinates and organises regular sales of home-made goods - food related or craft - by individual producers. There are lots of country markets all over the UK and each is run co-operatively with no stall or table dedicated to any particular individual. Each member of the market is expected to take their turn staffing the stalls and helping to run the market. The sales income from the produce goes to the country market which then returns 90% of the sales income back to the producers.<br />
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The little country market I have joined is called the Wythall & Hollywood Country Market. Wythall and Hollywood are two suburb areas on the outskirts of Birmingham. Our market is made up of a number of individual producers, offering fresh vegetables and eggs, wonderful baked goods like cakes, scones and cookies, homemade jams and chutneys, delicious home cooked stir fries and pizzas, handmade greeting cards, knitted items and wooden items decorated with pyrography.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Being a part of the market has been great fun. I attend every Saturday morning with my produce and we have a lovely time hanging out together. The market used to be in a local library but since November last year, has been moved to a new location. We are trying to build up greater awareness of our presence in the area to encourage more visitors and customers. It's pretty quiet at the moment but I think word is spreading and as the weather improves, we will likely get a higher footfall at market. </span></div>
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The variety of produce I offer at market ranges from my hand bound journals to leather and felt brooches, wood burnt boxes, personalised bookmarks and gift tags, fabric zipped pouches and foldaway shopping bags. Here's an example of some of my produce on display.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">I have really enjoyed getting back into my pyrography and being a part of this market, although trying to juggle work, family life and the crafting for market can be tricky sometimes. But hey, you know me - I like challenges like that. :-)</span></div>
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Until next time, happy crafting, friends. xxx</div>
<br />(Oh by the way, if you're on Instagram, you can find me there as @craftyady.)
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Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-89257333546567755622016-02-13T13:03:00.000+00:002016-02-13T13:03:03.594+00:00Helloooo out there!I am so sorry I have been missing for so long. Life just got in the way of blogging. I still craft and bake and run around after the small persons who are not so small any more. Dinoboy is now a teenager and MissyMoo is 8. Time just flies by, doesn't it?<br />
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So how have you all been?<br />
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Aside from doing my usual CraftyAdy stuff, I joined a local country market society last November. It seemed a good way to make new friends and have an outlet for my produce. I will tell you more about it another day. Just wanted to send out a virtual wave.<br />
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<br />Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-36040445916853533072012-11-22T07:45:00.000+00:002012-11-22T07:45:14.267+00:00A bit more catching up stuff - better late than neverI meant to post these wayyyyy back when it was Halloween but never did for one reason or another ... main reason being that I am rubbish this year! So behind in everything!<br />
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So this year at Halloween I continued what I started last year - which was carving pumpkins for the kids, for school and for my workplace. All in the name of fun. You might remember that last year I shared <a href="http://craftyady.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/whole-new-take-on-pumpkin-carving.html" target="_blank">my inspiration for carving pumpkins here.</a><br /><br />
Here are this year's pumpkins. This was the first one of 2012.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/zYW1vaSGMY" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3ply5leoFtSj1N2BC6lh06X7uzyQ_lDIDADl-ej9JHob2NeMcauQoVx5hHI03-DSeJ2MY8fx2PeQeHWG0KAxpfop8wy5axA6A-4AJ1arymTuYnvcWsJBSH6LQP42avS7NU3it6pPjeU/s512/P1060174.JPG" /></a><br />
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which when lit looked like this -<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/Po7OQAHMbj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y2TC0y1I8OY/UK3NB-fmAeI/AAAAAAAACgI/mAqD0vSRgts/s512/P1060172.JPG" /></a><br />
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Then there were these guys who went to school with Dinoboy and Missy Moo. Missy Moo wanted a not so scary one and Dinoboy wanted one with teeth.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/Vb8G2kVgjH" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sNiy37YN2KM/UK3NDoSQOpI/AAAAAAAACgY/frQ41NT1tik/s512/P1060217.JPG" /></a><br />
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They looked like this when lit -<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/FjNlN6ajEL" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--Bj-Sjlnr04/UK3NEBJP7OI/AAAAAAAACgk/HXFYxfIf5uM/s512/P1060218.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/AgihRujB5f" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-15QoyDa56FE/UK3NCYLaINI/AAAAAAAACgM/Cutby3i-nvo/s512/P1060215.JPG" /></a><br />
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The big chap in the middle below came to work with me and sat at our reception desk trying to scare students for several days.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/3TsptjMIPz" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMg6nPYIKj8T-V4D8_NzNCb-ZBW4VuLsn5ntAFoEC8LwKMhZkXNDIYw3_bM6tNt2sa-WXHcnEiB70mZsmefepN2l4b4r8hVyCfAQ-AJ-rRSAg1q_Z55UtpPwPti4MTuekB9qL3TBim7U/s512/P1060229.JPG" /></a><br />
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Franklin Fangs from last year made a command repeat appearance. A friend of mine started teaching at a new junior school and she asked if I could carve her one for her new class. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/Tc11efNnM3" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SbdFg98bSW8/UK3NFCRLzUI/AAAAAAAACgw/LP1xC7YaTSo/s512/P1060231.JPG" /></a><br />
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They even got to light him towards the end of the school day.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/h0TX0iqLgv" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykZRrLZUK42t2zLttNRbjCdWMPyfeDepspO6SpnTic98gAZZ-YdvKnJh5DMbC9nC_7H-LorZIy75lRcTyl-HmxOrwfYHT4uY_PaJ4jS1mGhqMPMQXjQ-dBKucbWbAsNM_Vyg7tgBd0z0/s512/P1060233.JPG" /></a><br />
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All in all a pretty successful series of pumpkins I reckon.<br />
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On this special day in November, I wish those of you who celebrate it a very Happy Thanksgiving.<br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;">Lord, 'tis Thy plenty-dropping hand<br />
That soils my land,<br />
And giv'st me for my bushel sowne<br />
Twice ten for one.<br />
All this, and better, Thou dost send<br />
Me, to this end,<br />
That I should render, for my part,<br />
A thankful heart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;"><br />
~Robert Herrick</span><br />
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Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-68736381832555615792012-11-21T07:01:00.001+00:002012-11-21T07:01:41.670+00:00More amigurumiI'm trying to find all the photos of stuff I have been working on over the past few weeks to share with you. Here are some more amigurumi I made after the birdies.<br />
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This is Zingy. He is the star of a tv advert campaign for one of our power companies. I found the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/edf-zingy" target="_blank">freebie pattern</a> on Ravelry and simply had to make him. Check out the funky remix of the first advert <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KphqPuiMr10" target="_blank">here</a> and I particularly like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bM2vnsnPpY" target="_blank">this one</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/eYvDzcIXer" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-J8AR1DEiPtw/UIYujXDGVqI/AAAAAAAACew/N870nFfSXf8/s512/P1060127.JPG" /></a><br />
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Seriously - look at that face.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/50zTS0ZkS7" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIFLqBt7ku3ETKLrevy7rK97D0UOC9vLoT93vOFNfODK17wKPZnbZ5fFxRFbYRG2WgnEBfUmHFY12ToLVqL9ZwLBZRkHD2wDpruJSTRLRjv-nrwZmK-i0EJGE1_n-S_e84dkpWK2_e38/s512/P1060128.JPG" /></a><br />
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For a laugh I decided to use the leftover yarn I had lying around after the birdies to make this ... <br />
it's a blob. No other way to describe it. LOL! He sits on my desk at work and just smiles at me.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/QCyK8fF3rt" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthBwdpr6tFE3M5glMIkw_gyNWRBAIDef_d7M9uP95g-cUGev-Z2wFOxi34DoYEEkYuONTg4GV4eO2Y8Afam7NX1xWi5UrwCd5b3wMXSy700mNjIwlg5yBpVRBqPlYbGF7M_F65tKFJWM/s512/P1060129.JPG" /></a><br />
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There is one more to share with you but I'll have to do it another time. Got to go wake the kids up for school now. Have a great day, friends.<br />
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<br />Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-50519939569246125082012-11-20T07:00:00.000+00:002012-11-20T07:00:17.295+00:00Distractions<br />
I can't believe it took me so long to try my hand at amigurumi. A friend introduced me to <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/" target="_blank">Craftsy</a> <br />where they do all sorts of really neat online video classes. I found one done by Stacey Trock on amigurumi and here's my first ever big amigurumi.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/201jmb9Bcl" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1K795yu1W9E/UHHkb8qQJhI/AAAAAAAACdM/tOyYtvx5kmY/s512/P1060122.JPG" /></a><br />
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Blue bird was followed by pink bird for Missy Moo. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/SllMkuBPMU" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rn-zROYHHCM/UHHkcWWKhDI/AAAAAAAACdQ/mUuXS2y4ENg/s512/P1060123.JPG" /></a><br />
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These were made using aran weight yarn (I think our friends in the US call it worsted weight). They work up really quick and are seriously cute.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/TNzhTSJxbP" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2pAwSA63SnbMFdhe36U-bEZkBJyB5rNyZXmC_URoSzx3FbGXpUp86_HYTt9WbppVwrYt68sYZmJgB2Hw4MmTJcEjB3bEki1wJLQtFQUOrdeyVQM0Kw_QLBHtchTlSDP7tqz2nRmKFPQ/s512/P1060125.JPG" /></a><br />
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I might try moving down to DK yarn to see how much smaller the amigurumi get with a smaller gauge yarn. I'm quite comfortable working with the bigger yarn at the moment whilst I get to grips with increasing and decreasing etc.<br />
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The birdie project led to a couple of other amigurumi projects which I will share in my next post. Have you tried amigurumi? I can see why folks like it so much. It's quite addictive and very distracting. I spent hours browsing through the amigurumi patterns on Ravelry. There are thousands of them!!<br />
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Have a fabulous day, friends.<br />
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<br />Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-30583941451986656682012-11-02T14:17:00.000+00:002012-11-02T14:17:48.073+00:00A UFO finished - the crocodile stitch hoodIn January this year, I started a crochet project - the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/marte-a-crocodile-stitch-hood">crocodile stitch hood</a> by Bonita patterns.
Then some other projects came along and this got put aside for a bit. I then picked it up again, only to run out of the yarn I was using. I managed to buy some more of the same yarn - which came in a skein which needed to be rewound into a ball - and got sidetracked again. Story of my life.<br />
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It was not until I got back from our Malaysia trip that I decided I was going to crack on with this WIP or UFO or whatever it was and just finish it. It actually didn't take me as long as I had feared it would take. And the rewinding of the skein into a center-pull ball was not as painful as I thought it was going to be.<br />
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I nabbed Missy Moo and made her model it for me. It looks a lot better on her than it does on me. See what you think.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/hcvJsl1jaF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KMWQ92neeZg/UGcdsI6YDfI/AAAAAAAACcc/FsbcOTZCqL4/s512/P1060118.JPG" /></a>
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The yarn is a fabulous 55% merino wool and 45% silk mix by Fyberspates called Scrumptious. This is their 4-ply sport weight yarn. It's so soft and the silk gives it an amazing handle. The Scrumptious comes in a DK weight too and will be my go-to yarn if I do make this again for myself. I'm thinking that moving up to a thicker yarn and a bigger hook might make it better. This hood just about fits me but I'd like it to be looser - the way it fits Missy Moo.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/q7rbO7VMC9" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_0eQsouc5KQ/UGcdoiXz-CI/AAAAAAAACcM/HIbyfLbqRG8/s512/P1060115.JPG" /></a>
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"Please mummy, can I have one of my own? Pleasseeee??" See this? This is my daughter's woeful deprived-of a lush-hood waif look. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/JJlea1Et3U" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_JqHssnsOXg/UGcdo8eBuJI/AAAAAAAACcQ/oy0amPuGFXY/s512/P1060116.JPG" /></a>
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And this is Missy Moo when I told her I will make her a hood of her own. In pink. She is happy now.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/92FYUx6vRc" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k0pSA5kxRtg/UGcdqnAMNvI/AAAAAAAACcY/h8IKolP9_hg/s512/P1060117.JPG" /></a>
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I love the way the scales frame the face. It makes her look like a pixie, don't you think?<br />
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So next up will be a pink hood for the little miss - exactly how long that's going to take to finish is another issue. There have been many distractions since I started on the pink hood for Missy Moo. I will share these with you shortly.<br />
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Wishing you a fab Friday, friends. x<br />
<br />Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-65151463083885803642012-10-27T08:25:00.002+01:002012-10-27T08:25:35.592+01:00The best dress-up play ever - holiday memories redux 2When we were in Malaysia, Dinoboy and Missy Moo accompanied their cousins to a place called Kidzania. Kidzania is a children's entertainment center providing a safe and fun environment which allows children to "work" in adult jobs and "earn" currency. The Kidzania we went to was a child-sized replica of a city with buildings, shops, restaurants, radio and tv stations and a theater, as well as vehicles and pedestrians moving along its streets. In this city, children can play at pretend work in branded activities from working at a MacDonalds restaurant, to manufacturing Oreo cookies, bottling water in a Seamaster plant, being newspaper reporters for Berita Harian (local Malaysian daily newspaper) or an anchor-person for a tv show or radio show, or a courier for PosLaju (Malaysian post office).<br />
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The children earn KidZos currency while performing the tasks, and the money is kept in the KidZania bank for children to spend at the gift shop and on non-free KidZania activities. My kids had a total blast. My cousin's twins who are 11 go there a lot and have heaps of fun every time. I was impressed by the educational benefits. At all times the Kidzania supervisors (each activity is the same - you meet an adult supervisor, they give you instructions, you dress up appropriately and follow the instructions to complete a given task) guide the kids and the parents have no input whatsoever. As a matter of fact, parents have to stay outside the zone of each activity. There are signs which say "No queuing on behalf of your child please as queuing is part of the learning experience". However the cynic in me grimaced at the re-staging of corporate consumerism targeted directly at kids - but then again, that's life, right?<br />
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When we got there, the kids had to go through 'Immigration control'. They were after all entering a very special nation. They got special passports, a 50 KidZo cheque to cash in at the bank to kick-start their earnings and a special magnetic wrist-tag which identified them. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/ZgD9Zfif6d" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vNUF4W4u8s8/UFbOVcxuRVI/AAAAAAAACX0/J4vuOEueffA/s512/DSCF5345.JPG" /></a><br />
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Dinoboy wanted a drivers license so he could drive the electric cars in the Honda car dealership. However, in order to get one, he first had to go get an eye-test, then he had to go buy some insurance from the Alliance insurance company. Once he had these two things, he could go take his driving test to get his license. Here he is buying his insurance.<br />
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Success! Insurance and his new drivers license. <br />
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Missy Moo wanted to be a firefighter. So off she went. She queued patiently for 40 minutes to take part in this activity. Can you spot her? Do you see that photographer to the right of the photo? OK - here's one of the ways Kidzania makes its money. Since parents cannot enter the activity zones, they can only take pretty rubbish photos. There is a whole platoon of official photographers who go around taking official shots of the kids doing their 'jobs' and then scanning their wrist tags to match the photos to the kids. On your way out at the end of the day, you have to walk past the official Kodak photo center and there you can scan your child's tag and up pop these awesome photos for you to purchase at extortionate prices. (No I am not bitter - honest!)<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/euyNjLaeA2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaiC4rk4sXXPSN0juGTUH7SUsZ_4-WVTtZulT9hXQ3cmRatUdhU-729HUD8lFZbTbY88kd4jySQQr8B_U5qMkmPrhu1EQO-eiH-Jh57_oB12pFhmnz4RnRlsQ2pLKI9wLFx9himhWQq4/s512/DSCF5360.JPG" /></a>
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Once they got their video briefing from the Chief Fire Officer, the firefighters all got into this cool fire engine. Sirens blasting, they cruise around the city streets towards the 'fire'. Spot all the parents standing around waiting for their kids.<br />
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At the Hotel Flamingo, the firefighters must put out the faux fire with their real water cannons. Seriously - how much fun is this?!!<br />
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Missy Moo got paid for her service at the fire station and hopped off to her next 'job' as a CSI! They queued again, then got a briefing about a crime. Then they got kitted out in their outfits, got their evidence cases and set off with instructions to go collect some evidence. The evidence was collected and returned to CSI command and analyzed using the computers there. Once the crime was solved, the task was complete and the kids got paid.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/gGD7Xka0zG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-b1tEXDXsTfY/UFbOdPNrByI/AAAAAAAACYc/GvpvS9zBmiw/s512/DSCF5383.JPG" /></a>
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Some of the brands provided miniature versions of their processing plants - for example, the Seamaster water bottling room had a complete working processing plant which allowed the kids to extrude a plastic bottle from a form, sterilize it, fill it with water, run a check for purity, then have the bottle sealed and a heat-shrink wrapper put on. Each kid had a bottle to take away as a momento.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/aMWkT1CWg3" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubwrzd_Go8eoSYXXhlMwsygTxmpf_e0MqpEj2j8Gx-TNWIzkY1Kwbwlq7qUKL_LABD0uAfFgV6NWDG3HWHSpit2xNB324DWWdA122-91DWxAAaj6-q9AQLQF4hN9t8C9CMrrRfaSuwcM/s512/DSCF5402.JPG" /></a>
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Dinoboy wanted to work in the Dell laptop manufacturing room. He completed a task on a laptop and then 'assembled' a laptop.<br />
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There was also a hospital. Spot Dinoboy as a surgeon, operating on some poor crash-test dummy who needed a tumour removing. He was supported by anesthetists, surgical nurses and a Kidzania supervisor. <br />
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The kids spent a bit of time at a building site learning about construction. This is an official photo (I caved in and bought one photo at the end of our day) of the kids taken by one of the official photographers. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/RHv7HtVSoi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUwno2tmwoCVR39r0hbRG0rIdwMOEymdoTNrl1KxefnGCzbnnggWhGGYszhqj8mXZ9_mmUi3Bf3WpbyBl1N8kgXk4EF5E51MReLyQCEnfGk_C3hmchbm4DlU6F4K1R2g7skhdocsZ1_g/s512/KKLBA131074.kkl502293a36a0345.43553798.jpg" /></a>
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One of Dinoboy's first jobs in Kidzania was as a courier. It was in his words "quick and easy money" as you only had to deliver a few packages to get paid for the task and they always had packages needing delivery. <br />
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Missy Moo spent some time in the Nursery playing with the 'babies'. She was very keen to do this job because it involved the wearing of pink lab coats. Typical Missy Moo that is. That's her with the bow in her hair.<br />
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The kids took part in many more jobs but I couldn't get close enough to take photos. Missy Moo had fun being a flight attendant on an AirAsia flight, serving up dinner and coffee from a proper trolley. Dinoboy got to drive a Honda car and train as a secret agent. There were over 55 activities that the kids could choose from to do. We got there when it opened for the day (10 am) and we left when they closed at nearly 5 pm. The kids had only managed to do about 10 or 12 jobs in that time. I can see how my cousin's kids love making repeated trips there during the school holidays. Before we left, we stopped by the gift store so they could 'purchase' items with their earnings. Parents again were not allowed in. The kids had to work out how much they had earned and what was affordable.<br />
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As it was Missy Moo's first experience, I felt the need to hover close by to provide guidance whilst she was queuing. However, should we return there in a couple of years' time, the kids will be more familiar with the process and will require little or no supervision from me at all. It is at that point I think I might just take myself off to the 'Parents' lounge' and perhaps bury my nose in a book whilst sipping my latte ... or maybe have a manicure - or even watch TV to while away the hours my kids will spend having fun in what they reckon must be the best dress-up playground ever.<br />
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-54331527426378311732012-10-26T06:18:00.000+01:002012-10-26T06:18:55.563+01:00Holiday memories redux 1You may recall that a couple of months ago, the kids and I took off to the Far East to visit my family in Malaysia. The trip was a lot of fun but the flights were not so fun for poor Dinoboy who suffered from earache, airsickness and at one point, a nosebleed too. Missy Moo was fine but insisted on spending some time holding a sickbag up to her face in sympathy. Whilst we were there, my brothers had made arrangements for a family weekend to Singapore and another weekend trip to the seaside. The kids very much enjoyed spending time with their cousins and meeting aunts, uncles, grand-aunts, grand-uncles etc. They also got to wear all those nice clothes I made for them! I don't think I got around to sharing the tank top Dinoboy is wearing. He loves this top as much as he loved the elephant one. <br />
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Whilst in Singapore, we visited the Gardens by the Bay which is an amazing park newly opened earlier on in the year. In the photo above, you can see the two conservatories and the 'supertrees' in the background behind the kids. Here's another shot of the awesome supertrees. These are tree-like structures which dominate the park's landscape. There's also an amazing elevated walkway between the structures. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/r1akDrPQJD" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dS3wqwwdihg/UFbOMi9yTDI/AAAAAAAACXA/xN6spXXAOO8/s512/DSCF5084.JPG" /></a><br />
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Inside one of the the cooled conservatories, we walked through permanent displays of plants from all over the world. The kids ran about ooh-ing and ahh-ing over unusual plants and incredible flowers.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/gG2SlMt4TQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOmqNj2BSW9wyrpukMlc2QV97P5BNTO_c2w_wINHhTjJ8s_gB5Nts8W_H13X6_qfgNRWx0lfgGCWgQvfU5dtMGw5OPx9loyWnubmUPC1TbX0az7uVUVQ1Ix93X8ctrmU936gM8COu3VI/s512/DSCF5106.JPG" /></a><br />
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In the other conservatory, the kids and I were amazed by a 100-foot waterfall and wonderful displays of plant species found normally in tropical mountain regions. We took an elevator right up to the top of the dome where the waterfall began it's vertical drop down and walked along a circular suspended walkway all the way back down.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/nupF57WdJI" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLx5ORYshfaxHsNbb_LnvckR0F5KyL4IhN4aZbXucryOUkR2qReBsfdYvuLBfhmrD1brcPxEjJmOFQgPhEsf__voq5HwGdPajVZMLR_17REgiOvhMfKFwJBz8osZ2XlQddzL65cVk32Q/s512/DSCF5125.JPG" /></a><br />
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Dinoboy, with his great love of all things animal related, had always wanted to visit Singapore Zoo. The kids spent a delightful day madly dashing about the zoo taking in all the sights. (Note the mummy-made clothing!)<br />
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My poor kids being all pale in comparison to their cousins, got very pink in the heat. Look at how pink little Missy Moo got. It was a right job getting her to keep a sunhat on her head.<br />
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The kids had a blast in Singapore. And they didn't mind when I told them to go pose for silly pictures like this one.<br />
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Missy Moo never did need any encouragement to strike a funny pose for photos. She's such a clown.<br />
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The weekend after we got back from Singapore, the whole family visited a local seaside resort called Port Dickson. The kids played on the beach and enjoyed their cousins' company in the hotel pool. Here's Missy Moo trying to bury her feet in the sand. <br />
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The three weeks flew by so quickly. Dinoboy and Missy Moo want me to share some other photos of a very special place for them. I'll do it in my next holiday memories post.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-43199754962816332282012-10-21T22:44:00.001+01:002012-10-22T08:17:18.535+01:00French barrette ribbon bows for the little MissMissy Moo’s hair flies about and gets in everything. When the new school term started, I thought a nice way for her to get her hair looking tidy for school was to make her some nice hair clips. I found some plain French barrettes in a local bead shop and bought a few. I also bought ribbon of varying widths. Other useful supplies are some glue (or a hot-glue gun if you have one – which I do), needle and thread, scissors and something to seal the ends of the cut ribbon (such as Fray-Stop). Here’s how I made these bow barrettes.<br />
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The dark green ribbon is a 1-inch wide grosgrain ribbon. The gingham ones came in different widths and I bought one slightly narrower than the plain grosgrain, another one the same width as the barrette and finally, another gingham ribbon in a much narrower width. I refered to <a href="http://makebowsandmore.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/pinwheel-bow-with-sallys-clip.html" target="_blank">this great tutorial here</a> to make these pinwheel bows. (The needle and thread is for sewing and securing the middle of the bows.) There are heaps of amazing bow tutorials on that site too. Anyway – here are the assembled bits.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/AlnNIAx5jb" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TK7LklyJnek/UFa6r4rbEJI/AAAAAAAACTs/OGrhCS1PMtI/s400/P1060075.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Taking one of the gingham ribbons which was the same width as the bar at the top of the barrette, I glued a piece onto the top of the barrette.<br />
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Here’s the largest pinwheel bow.<br />
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I placed a dollop of glue in the middle of the bow and stuck it to the barrette.<br />
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Notice that little bar to the right? That’s the tension bar in the French barrette. You can remove it before you start working on your bow. I found it easier to work on sticking all the bits down without the tension bar in the way.
Next I glued the gingham pinwheel bow to the plain bow. (excuse the photo – I missed taking one of the photos in the making sequence but realised later that I’d taken this one which shows how the bows stack up)<br />
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You’ll have to excuse the next two photos too as I completely missed taking photos of this step when I was making the green ribbons bow barrette. (*slaps head*) Using the thinnest of the ribbons, tie it around the bows and the barrette.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/s224BURzBP" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WETVsGzlMTk/UFa7CRP24OI/AAAAAAAACVU/lMHvqmm7jKQ/s400/P1060090.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Wrap the ends around the middle and secure with a small blob of glue to the back of the barrette.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/LbePb6bWW8" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QYdTG28Si80/UFa7DlTiZzI/AAAAAAAACVc/hp5iEgwF7ck/s400/P1060091.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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From the front, they’ll look like this –<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/zaGq11bSzz" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGRlXRYDfEjZSwlcPqwmmZTowPt9dGSwf99hAEJQeo6r2YJvVSYqjprJxxd64RtWJhHqgC6Um2cBHeNKvAlRMvRZAIWuShIueHzFovFiRvSXaZrj8QIcpaR_YL_La8yfKjcjoI13ULC0/s400/P1060083.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Replace the tension bars and the back will look like this –<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/TDHNFD9K4r" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwecIIlxQ4TPUGp-n8jdbeOKcygIq0nU_Q1co0LmPZQ8GgXCpCPWHl1o9Nt7N0l2CmVoya1tfYuGBqE39q7KQddsY3bUZnwGqkfOch5zktu6_80YjQSIwMssG7OF10dfiEoIdC4tjZimM/s400/P1060082.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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These satisfy Missy Moo’s desire for pretty hair clips whilst meeting school regulations in terms of colour and print.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/18zm8oswn7" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M7_b9r68IW4/UFa7JBDNUYI/AAAAAAAACV8/KaDdZbTHmyI/s400/P1060095.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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The same process was used to make pink ‘princess bows like this one –<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/cu5i0KXJ9p" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ry1dArCffCo/UFa7H6JumMI/AAAAAAAACWE/U7ObOt1paqw/s400/P1060094.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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The bow barrettes make Missy Moo very happy. They make her want to do this –<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/So0NFTHKBR" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ze4irkUPXagCWFj33X4YSltfZ7d4qDzh8PnUDLvK1yPUhKPkqsM_OlO0PctIN0DvF9nm_pdwQPB3DvzMYigkMhFsa356dgXlyEg-cyVqbNbQgNgebgrGA4JtwDMJISbqjwm2Ol6giaI/s640/P1060097.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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It’s our half term break this week. The kids and I are going to the movies with some friends tomorrow. Should be fun. What are you up to this week, friends?
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-54126748590406754542012-10-19T06:58:00.001+01:002012-10-19T06:58:37.713+01:00I'm baaackkk!!!Hello Friends. I’ve been away from blogosphere for some time. Sorry!<br />
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We had a lovely time in Malaysia with the family and then we got home and things went crazy with work for many weeks. The kids went back to school and my work was still crazy busy. It’s now starting to calm down and I can breathe again.
Although I’ve not been blogging, I have not been idle. I have soooo much to share with you! I think I will start with this –<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/Q3E71xizA7" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItcEnGbciFK6ikUF5hMvRy6gh5U_O9CEbW1X01FjJWq9NBuIuU1gdma1YUlLtUrr1YXT0Tou8Idg7934TGHvmOthOrmuk6Di90RSqDmD8tjlzeGeoFbg9TZa95nJOkKK9aA_LiWtwAQc/s512/P1060068.JPG" /></a><br />
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Missy Moo’s hair is starting to get long. Keeping it off her face at mealtimes and just generally making sure it’s tidy for school are important issues for us (well, for me and Missy Moo. The men in our family do not crowd their brain space with such clutter). So since Missy Moo likes pretty things, I found some nice inspiration off the web and now we go to school like this –<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/iskO4S63dx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdY_ZUEUcR6NSpRMCS92GIPcBHtSVpbZo9Yb7b-TYwzWdIqeBbJXG2xAKK2v9nRr4NyDgx6I4zedX24uZKFUKvGaAK75mAAk4PVYm-eKdZE95nKF8sqX5QK2xMc1CJ7pAA5AQ2HCZtxA/s512/P1060072.JPG" /></a><br />
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(please excuse slight mess above bow .... this was done quickly sans a comb!)
She is pleased.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/Ceaq9BDQtm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E8_VEbTpOI8/UFa6qrxNjCI/AAAAAAAACTw/NEQcSyofSZQ/s512/P1060073.JPG" /></a><br />
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Since then, I have made 2 more bow barrette clips for her for school (in school sanctioned colours) and 2 pink ones for home. Every time we go to the craft store, she asks for more ribbon to make more bow barrettes! I’ve taken photos so there’ll be a tutorial up shortly on how to make one of these bow barrettes.<br />
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Wishing you all a very Happy Friday. It’s good to be back.
Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-18378666023079642182012-07-14T06:59:00.000+01:002012-07-14T06:59:51.529+01:00Last minute stuff and a whole lot of panicI kept meaning to share the other stuff I made for the kids with you but one thing or another got in the way and in 2 hours time I am heading off with kids in tow to the airport to get on a plane heading towards South East Asia. We're going to Malaysia to visit my family. I have not been back in 7 years!! Very excited!<br />
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Here is the last of the jersey dresses for Missy Moo. as usual, she is thrilled with it.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/u4Agl8CuvM" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VU5J_R_gjHQ/T_BzRUh6cYI/AAAAAAAACPM/TbJbAUl8QAo/s512/P1050656.JPG" /></a><br />
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Typical of my kid, she demands to wear it to school on the next non-uniform day and when she gets home from school that day, tells me that there is a hole in the back of her dress!!<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/6qWuQos3se" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOH8jtTTirOI-m45j-f4S0Se48K5D6gzOjvgrHfm7bJ6La2j4Zd-zvsvIBSNtHugV7mTc82kHUVDIMwnqjxzkqwVXIE5Xnqw5Ew48J_uJWJHr3rvNcALGs5-ZMkG2BDSE_-0hYozEFLE/s512/P1050658.JPG" /></a><br />
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It's a small hole but still a hole. No idea how she did it - probably caught it on something in the playground. So I sewed a small patch to it and it's fine now. <br />
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The boy has a new top too but I can't find the photos! I'll have to show you it when I get back from malaysia. I will have very limited internet access whilst I am there so I apologise if I don't reply to your comments. I have to go finish packing now and get the kids out of bed.<br />
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See you in a few weeks, friends. xAdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-35825423624992407792012-07-07T18:09:00.000+01:002012-07-07T18:09:30.567+01:00The forest friends vest topI bought a 1 metre cut of this gorgeous fabric and from this I made a <a href="http://craftyady.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/forest-friends-tee-dress.html">dress for Missy Moo </a>and also managed to cut this vest top for my 8-year-old niece.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/r9xOGCvhkl" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yfH2dtk668k/T_B1wmint-I/AAAAAAAACRQ/fhmMJ72zZig/s512/P1050653.JPG" /></a><br />
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This fabric makes me very happy - the colours are bright and the pattern is beyond cute. I'm glad I stuck to the red jersey bands for the neckline and the arms. I think black ribbing might have been too heavy. I hope she will like it as much as I do.<br />
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The kids and I are going away for 3 weeks to Malaysia to visit our famiy there. We fly a week today. I have so much to do before then. I'm working almost to the end. I've not even thought about packing yet - I'll probably be madly lobbing stuff into my cases the night before.<br />
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My kids and I have not done much long-distance travelling together. I used to travel loads before the kids came along. As a matter of fact, this will be Missy moo's very first flight ever. She is very excited about the trip. Dino-boy and I have flown out to the Far East before - we went twice before he was 4, both times to attend my brothers' weddings. The kids have had their jabs (Dino-boy felt a bare tickle apparently and Missy Moo screamed blue-murder at Nursey and cried tons) and are making their packing lists for stuff to take onto the plane. The first leg is 7 hours and we then have a 3 hour transit before another 7 hours to our destination.<br />
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Since my two are 5 and 10 respectively, I'm thinking of packing some sugar-free lollipops for them to suck as we take off and land. Have you traveled long-distances with your kids? What are your top tips for flying long-distances?<br />
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Hope you're having a great weekend, friends.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-48681195455388057612012-07-01T22:54:00.003+01:002012-07-02T21:33:25.017+01:00A brief interruption to our normal programmingThere was a bit of excitement this morning. Quite unusually, all four of us were up at 6.00 am and out of the house some 25 minutes later. "Why?" I hear you ask. Well, it started a couple of weeks ago with this map.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/799SufTliK" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3YMGMwYmmuc/T_Bzfqj-1cI/AAAAAAAACQo/ya6AY72gId4/s512/P1050693.JPG" /></a><br />
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It was about this thing.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/6CpPnWZWx1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lX-8OmvZjWA/T_B1zmdHY6I/AAAAAAAACRI/2yLhuoGx_40/s512/torch2012.jpg" /></a><br />
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Oh yes. The Olympic torch was making its way to our capital city and on the 44th day of its 70-day journey, it would be passing pretty close to the street we live on. The kids were delighted and immediately insisted they had to be there to watch. Then last week, the local council chaps hung a whole bunch of these up.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/DtNe0rXYzs" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MbzqH_brPpk/T_DFlWOXJeI/AAAAAAAACRg/eQike6G4W8A/s512/roadsign1.jpg" /></a><br />
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The kids were beside themselves with excitement. They even went to bed early last night. The weather was lovely this morning. We live just 5 minutes stroll from the main road along which the torch would be carried. Mr CraftyAdy and I had agreed upon a good spot from which we'd stand to watch the torch go by. The roads were quiet and there were some people about ... not many but there were some. I cleverly employ the use of arrows in the picture below to show you where these 'some people' are just in case you think that no-one would be as crazy as us to go stand beside the road at 6.30 in the morning.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/5gx3wvjfhx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-j0aOMHJ1VIY/T_IFQ7pgXLI/AAAAAAAACR4/I7TVITa6KHc/s512/P1050661.JPG" /></a><br />
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We waited for about 25 minutes. Missy Moo was getting bored and lamenting about the wait. When told that she ought to be a bit patient, she declared "Patience takes too long!" Despite Dinoboy's efforts to entertain her, the moaning continued.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/6BPa1wWeyt" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DGXXJdxWVys/T_BzXVZ7KwI/AAAAAAAACP0/ivdfRO9bgU4/s512/P1050664.JPG" /></a><br />
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Soon more people turned up, including this chap in his pyjamas and dressing gown.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/8koLIVHI7I" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ic1GA5_ZMlc/T_BzY6zN3LI/AAAAAAAACP8/DZ3TJehxvcI/s512/P1050666.JPG" /></a><br />
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Then the first convoy arrived. These were mostly open-top buses advertising the sponsors (eg the banks, Coca Cola)<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/50qqGMRnKl" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6bY90CUUgIIgurBhMbV5NcQPPaNlKZAUfZYL7DjvRri90qBuqwKXBP1iBM2luedNcImJcJaduTq6cL8wedH7CHtH3XDs3ajqdGboQKQxXOkbO5jsayMl41XT02PaQ-x64SfA7mua8Pc/s512/P1050672.JPG" /></a><br />
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Here is Wenlock, the Olympics mascot for the London 2012 Olympics, hanging out of a car. Apparently Wenlock is based on a short story by children's author Michael Morpurgo that tells how it and it's partner, Mandeville, were fashioned from droplets of the steel used to build the Olympic stadium. <br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/7BHoVMCm9R" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MoGiacd6ySY/T_BzbtjJamI/AAAAAAAACQM/QATrVKKVkAs/s512/P1050674.JPG" /></a><br />
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The first convoy passed us by with some fanfare and we had to wait another 5 minutes before the torch finally turned up.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/csCwfLgUqC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3JtDpZXqHXE/T_BzdKdvh3I/AAAAAAAACQU/TQgt1cy26jU/s512/P1050687.JPG" /></a><br />
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We got a pretty good view and up to now I have no idea who this chap was! But he did a good job, smiling and waving as he jogged along to the next point where the next torch bearer was waiting.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/KK4hWlQTV7" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N5o7CbGLmS4/T_BzeXj1_KI/AAAAAAAACQc/6HotnnM23i0/s512/P1050690.JPG" /></a><br />
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We waited 25 minutes and watched the torch go by in about 30 seconds. Then it was home for breakfast and a warming cup of tea. The kids enjoyed the experience and no doubt it will be a major talking point in the playground at school tomorrow morning. <br />
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We will shortly return to topics related to sewing for small people.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-72995055770071459812012-06-29T21:09:00.000+01:002012-06-29T21:09:45.430+01:00Forest friends tee-dressHere is the second tee-dress I made for Missy Moo. This has superseded the purple space kids dress in popularity and is to date her most favourite item of clothing.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/5VFhKuGOcN" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZClDTWvZnZGT870HRlvlRwWUSu6rv9B5Ivp-ol5xPtFbwlYK_46wTg8tBMu19nEzzSt3o-gwzqsJpe2jyl3dnHcAAvNrn9fyzFjgnWrUjsOQwVP-AiaUB4Z-rnnqyE_zIlNlsKZzBrc/s512/P1050649.JPG" /></a><br />
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Her joy knoweth no bounds when she is in this dress.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/oxxkkBX8pc" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AvWUaAEKJcc/T-tvqu-62iI/AAAAAAAACOs/fa0AuDekncQ/s512/P1050648.JPG" /></a><br />
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When asked how much she loved the dress, this was her answer.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/m6LNCuzwev" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j1gjQfZ8G7k/T-tvszpZdhI/AAAAAAAACO0/MoOHd4pz3FA/s512/P1050650.JPG" /></a><br />
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The sewing of clothing for small people is continuing. I will be back to share more results in a few days.<br />
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Have a great weekend.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-12164574134288612082012-06-25T21:57:00.000+01:002012-06-25T21:57:40.419+01:00The elephant vest top and a bit of Frankie ValliSince I was very much in the mood to make quick, (relatively) easy vest tops / vest-dresses, next on the sewing table was this lovely number for Dinoboy.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/QVFSocyxSZ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBIbdq58M8t4HBw7qCMnoGG75hHhTtQ8WrKkYqBqVFO-OZFlkxUgunZkPFNNZbbV8WQB8eKHGbPcqSQEQR5GJEDh5J9v4C3ybhVWv9r8NsIALHezC04RMgzPKuLawWpl0sRb7nzcYm6s/s512/P1050640.JPG" /></a><br />
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This is yet another gorgeous jersey fabric I bought from <a href="http://kitschycoo.blogspot.co.uk/">Kitschy Coo</a> - seriously, where does that woman find such amazing fabric??!! This one is 50% organic cotton interlock blended with 50% bamboo viscose. It is so soft and lightweight. Perfect summer wear.<br />
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Dinoboy thinks it's fabulous. He's animal mad and loves the colour red - this vest ticks all the right boxes for him. Here he is channeling a bit of old Frankie to express how much he likes this vest top.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/KuKQkA2jTx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-br_N8BZSLh4/T-dV5nGOhAI/AAAAAAAACOI/Vl0b37Whbvk/s512/P1050644.JPG" /></a><br />
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"You're just too good to be true.<br />
Can't take my eyes off you.<br />
You'd be like heaven to touch.<br />
I wanna hold you so much.<br />
At long last love has arrived.<br />
And I thank God I'm alive.<br />
You're just too good to be true.<br />
Can't take my eyes off you.<br />
I love you baby, and if it's quite all right,<br />
I need you baby ....."Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-23010468736146180002012-06-24T22:59:00.000+01:002012-06-24T22:59:42.107+01:00Space kids tee-dress finishedThis started out as a jersey vest top for Missy Moo but her royal Moo-ness wanted it to be a dress instead. I only got a half metre cut of this fabric and with careful cutting, I managed to squeeze out a skirt to sew to the top bit. She was very pleased with the dress.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/q9yfQmDUiQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AWDYRF4RyQ4/T-dV4sWIFkI/AAAAAAAACOM/j8IB8_rGFeY/s512/P1050633.JPG" /></a><br />
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I got the fabulous fabric from Kitschy Coo's <a href="http://kitschycoo.bigcartel.com/">shop</a> and it was one of three jersey fabrics I bought from her. <br />
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Missy Moo wore this dress all weekend. Here she is throwing a few shapes around on the patio to illustrate how much she loves this dress.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/PIFAANCjQH" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XdbIH93_Ht0/T-dV1B8wGOI/AAAAAAAACN0/pfDyFmIgCMU/s512/P1050631.JPG" /></a><br />
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There's a vest top for Dinoboy coming soon, another tee-dress for Missy Moo and a vest top for my niece too. It's all about sewing for the kids this week.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3533787247804161872.post-14637196453603169492012-06-22T10:03:00.000+01:002012-06-22T10:03:28.798+01:00My *late* Creative SpaceSorry - a slightly later than normal post re what's in my creative space right now. Here's an in-progress jersey vest (which might turn into a tee-dress by 'royal' command) top for Missy Moo. How incredibly cute is that print?!! I got it from <a href="http://kitschycoo.bigcartel.com/">Kitschy Coo</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/fLCqDup3H9" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3Mefcx5FB6lsqTmWtdxJLNyW0FtbxNJMubkii6lcONXQaL-Kr7O0ZXq-RUHEDYqUPS7tfetpCKz05m3I1KTpibFw_ptqjZVrV3GUHo__DZtFFQVHKDPrQ5zUSsBQ4STrB9uwsYjqiOY/s512/P1050629.JPG" /></a><br />
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She tried it on this morning before breakfast and declared it wonderful except for the fact that it ought really to be long so it can be a dress. The plan for tonight is to try to squeeze a skirt out of the remnant of fabric I have leftover. I think it is doable. Amazing what you can squeeze out of half a metre with a bit of creative cutting!<br />
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More creative spaces can be found <a href="http://blogs.kidspot.com.au/villagevoices/my-creative-space-for-those-who-make-create-and-share-6/">here</a>.Adyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14111166923424161393noreply@blogger.com1