Shary Bobbins

We've moved blog addresses!

2010-08-14T00:38:00.002+10:00

Hello there! Thanks very much for stopping by!

Sarah and I just wanted to let you know that while we might still post things here on Shary Bobbins every so often, we now have blogs of our own where we do most of our posting!

Sarah's new blog is called Box Brownies: http://www.boxbrownies.blogspot.com/

Lauren's new blog is called Stuff: http://stuffzine.blogspot.com/

We'd love if you'd come and visit us at our new blog homes and say hi!

The Envelope Project

2010-06-14T16:21:00.006+10:00

The super clever Pip over at Meet Me At Mikes has come up with the awesome Envelope Project for all us bloggers to participate in. Yay! Basically you send in a prettied-up envelope with a little something special inside it and Pip will use them to decorate the window of her shop. How cool is that? Here are a couple of pics of my envelope and the little gift tags I stamped to go inside.

And the gift tags. Mmm...donuts...

Now all I have to do is actually send it! If you want to get in on the crazy-envelope-decorating action then head on over to Pip's!

The best new video clip I have seen in a while...

2010-01-17T19:08:00.003+10:00

Sia - You've Changed. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

Birthday Party Fun

2009-12-14T17:43:00.008+10:00

As I may have mentioned in Wednesday's post, yesterday was my birthday and I got a lovely surprise when I arrived at Sarah's place and saw that she had set up a gorgeous little tea party!She even put up some super cute bunting around the windows:

On the menu for afternoon tea were a dozen delicious cupcakes from Poppy Cakes. The Red Velvet cupcake was totally amazing; the buttercream icing wasn't sickly sweet like so many cupcakes can be and the contrast of the red cake and white icing looked so pretty.

I also got some lovely presents and what with having Italian food for lunch (my fave) and tasty cupcakes for afternoon tea, it was a great day all 'round. Thanks Sarah! (And Mum and Dad too for buying the cupcakes!)

What's Hot & What's Not Wednesday

2009-12-09T20:54:00.008+10:00

My oh my how long it has been since I last did a What's Hot & What's Not Wednesday! Or an actual blog post for that matter....(*hides in shame*).

So, getting straight to it! (Written in festive colours of course).

What's Hot:

- The super cool embroidery patterns at Sublime Stitching. They're just so fab i'm going to order some and give it ago, despite the general awfulness of my past hand sewing attempts. Dodgy sock monkey anyone?

- My birthday on Sunday. Who doesn't love it when their b'day comes around? Presents, food and cake! What's not to love?

- Our Christmas tree! It's over 2m tall with twinkly lights and is decorated with ornaments that have been in our family for years. (Altough the weight of said ornaments are now giving the tree a lovely forward lean). There's nothing better than the feeling of putting up all of those familiar little ornaments and decorations on the tree and around the house every Christmas. And adding new ones too of course!

- Yankee Candles. A recent and lovely discovery. They have an absolutely huge range of scented candles and tonnes of yummy Christmas themed ones. The Christmas Biscuit and Cinnamon Sugar ones literally smell good enough to eat.

What's Not:

- The sad neglect of our little blog! New Years resolution- blog way more often!

- Oh, and people hacking into my email account and spamming everyone I know. Aargh!

Check out what else is Hot and Not at Loobylu.

What's Hot & What's Not Wednesday

2009-11-04T19:50:00.025+10:00

Yet another Wednesday and another What's Hot and What's Not from Loobylu! My, how time flies when you're studying for an exam!

So, What's Hot?

- Getting my Uni exam over and done with on Monday. Although summer semester starts in a couple of weeks, it still means I can get back into crafting and blogging which have been somewhat neglected while I was studying!

- Having a long lunch with Sarah and Sean on Tuesday. It was a great way to celebrate the end of exams and Sarah and Sean leaving for their much anticipated holiday to Japan. Stay tuned for Sarah's upcoming post showing off all the fabric and crafty things she's picked up over there! Can you tell that i'm a teeny bit jealous?

- The Box. A really cool and unusual movie that keeps you guessing through 'til the end. It also gets you thinking- would you press the button? You can tell the story was originally on the Twilight Zone and is directed by the same guy who did Donnie Darko- much retro sci-fi music and weird atmosphere abounds!

-Plus, Cameron Diaz rocks some really great 70's hairstyles (and outfits) in it. Observe:

And What's Not?

- The fact that i'm not going to Japan to search for Geisha and Hello Kitty.

- Not being able to craft or blog in the last week because i've had to study for an exam instead.

- Blogger constantly changing the layout of my posts so the published version looks different (and much messier) than the draft version! So unbelievably irritating!

- Not being able to buy Cath Kidston's new book or the Food Safari cookbook because I have to wait until my birthday or Christmas to get them. (Insert a childish sounding "Aww, not fair!" here.)

Finders Keepers Brisbane

2009-10-31T16:56:00.011+10:00

After a few weeks of saving and excitement the Finders Keepers market has finally arrived in Brisbane.

and boy where the crowds out in force....

the Old Museum was filled to capacity with eager market goers of all ages and persuasions. This was just the view outside on the verandah.

Inside was just as busy and unfortunately it made it quite hard to actually be able to see what was on display.

Frankie Magazine had a fantastic little stall of their own and I was able to pick up these vintage inspired goodies. I managed to score some great wrapping paper, a vintage pillowcase, and a gorgeous 70's inspired Christmas card. What's with the hairspray you say? Well it was actually a lucky dip prize given to every customer. I can't remember the last time I dabbled in a lucky dip. (I did not realise they still made this stuff, I might have to use it with caution).

One of my favourite finds of the day were these beautiful Christmas tags from paper boat press . They are going to look great as decoration on bottles of Jam or simply as decorations for the tree. For hand made ceramic gift tags, they were very reasonable at only $15 a pack.

I also found these great packs of Christmas Cards from Blossom Creations. I can't wait to break them out for Christmas this year.

Overall the market was a lot of fun but some of the stalls were aimed at higher end buyers and quite expensive. It was however great to see Selvedge House, Rebecca from Edward and Lilly and the other girls from BrisStyle all displaying their amazing creations. I would have to say that the BrisStyle Markets are still more my cup of tea with vintage inspired creations and less mainstream high fashion kind of style. Now I just have to hold on till the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market in December to get my market fix.

Loving Right Now...

2009-10-30T20:38:00.011+10:00

Here are a few cool things we here at Shary Bobbins are coveting right now:

1. Made By White's gorgeous wall stickers.

2. Able & Game's super cute and quirky cards. The card below was inspired by a hilarious 80's dating video that you watch on their blog. Gotta love those hairstyles.

3. Victoria Mason's Nice biscuit necklace. An Australian afternoon tea icon! Plus this one won't get soggy and end up in the bottom of your tea cup. All we need now is an Iced Vovo and we're all set!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas...

2009-10-29T22:17:00.008+10:00

I must admit that I absolutely love Christmas and all of the associated Chrismass-y things: Santa, twinkly fairy lights on the front of people's homes, Rudolph and his little red nose, Christmas carols; but one of the things I love most are Christmas decorations! Which is why I was rather excited to go a special Christmas preview at Unique Gifts so I could get a sneak peek at all of their seasonal goodies! Here are some photos of the decorations I just had to buy:

As soon as I saw the ice cream decorations I had to have them because they're so sweet and unique. I also got a little shimmery gold bird because it was cute and the same goes for the toadstool candle. Yes, I know toadstools don't have anything to do with Christmas but I just thought it was adorable. The tree the decorations are displayed on is a nifty little thing that slots together and can be laid flat when you're not using it. I think it would make a lovely table centerpiece on Christmas Day!

Hot 'n' Not

2009-10-28T21:11:00.007+10:00

HOT!

- Only two more days until the Finders Keepers market comes to Brisbane! I can't wait to head into the Old Museum at Herston on Saturday to look at all the handmade goodies. It will be great to see all of Brisbane's creative talent in the one spot.

- Holidays!! Only two days left of work, thank god and only one week till Japan.

- Reading the new Frankie magazine and the latest Matthew Reilly book.

NOT!
- Being so busy with getting work sorted out that I have not had much energy to anything else, much less anything crafty.

- Sore throats. Fingers crossed I don't get sick before my holidays.

- The fact that it is almost the end of strawberry season.

Find more Hot's and Not's here at Loobylu.

Eye Spy...Something Cuddly

2009-10-27T19:45:00.007+10:00

Today I thought i'd join in on the Eye Spy meme from bugandpop and the theme for this week is Something Cuddly, which is right up my alley! I can think of lots of cuddly things but I have two in mind that are particularly cuddly so here they are:

The first is my toy bunny Basil who I have had since I was about 10 years old when I wheedled my parents into buying him for me in Coffs Harbour when we were on holidays. He has since been sufficiently cuddled and been taken on many more family trips away. He's clocked up quite a few frequent flyer miles!

And secondly there's my little toy poodle Phoebe who is super-duper cuddly. Her favourite past times include sleeping on the fluffy living room rug and hoovering crumbs off the kitchen floor.

Ahh rain, how I have missed you!

2009-10-26T20:57:00.006+10:00

Tonight I am just chilling enjoying the beautiful sound of rain on our tin roof. It is so relaxing to just sit back and watch a summer storm roll in on the horizon.......

Photo courtesy of ourbrisbane.com

25# Gotta love council pick up day

2009-10-25T20:08:00.012+10:00

Today I thought I would share with you a project that I have been working on for a while. Now as I have mentioned previously I may have a problem when it comes to hoarding things but I have to admit that I also have the bad habit of pulling things out of dumpsters and picking things up off the side of the road. Let me present you with Exhibit A:

Last year while driving home we realised that unbeknownst to us it was council pick up day. I decided that a detour was in order and we began to scour the streets. Not long into our search we came across these little beauties. Now I know they look like they were throw out for good reason but I thought that with a little work we could turn them into something useable.

Now the funny thing was were driving our little Corolla at the time which really is not the best vehicle for transporting a five piece outdoor setting but I was determined to fit it all in. A few other people in vehicles more appropriate for transporting furniture waited near by hoping that we would give up but in the end we triumphed! (although I must admit that I had to drive home because the driver seat had to be put so far forward that my husband could not actually fit behind the wheel!).

I originally was going to coat the table and chairs in some varnish and keep the look of the cane but it just did not seem like it was going to freshen them up enough. After we moved into our new house I decided that a fresh coat of white outdoor paint might do the trick. After a couple of coats of paint they came up a treat.

While there were no cushions left with the chairs I decided to turn the cushions from some old couches that were given to us by my in laws into the base for our new chairs.

I am loving the look of stripes on outdoor furniture at the moment and managed to find some great fabric at Ikea that fitted the bill perfectly. I tried to use the old cushion covers as a guide when sewing the new ones but in the end I used some brown paper to create some rudimentary patterns. They turned out a little big but I suppose that is better than being too small.

I'm really happy that I was able to convert the chairs into something a little more comfortable and it feels great to give life to some old down and out furniture. At the moment all four chairs are painted but I still have to buy the other two colours of striped fabric from Ikea. I'm hoping to make up the other cushions in matching green and yellow stripped fabric.

Now I just have to wait for this years council pick up day so that I can get my next fix.

My Place and Yours: Bedside

2009-10-24T20:52:00.007+10:00

Another week, another 'My Place and Yours' meme from Meet Me at Mikes! This week's theme is 'Bedside'. My bedside table isn't that enthralling but here it is anyway!I am actually rather pleased with the state of my bedside table at the moment. It used to get stacked high with books but I have tried to keep the pile to a minimum and now I can actually see the time on my Hello Kitty clock! I absolutely love my clock because it is in the shape of a teacup and the lemon slice on the side is actually a little night light. (And yes, I do actually turn it on every night!) Plus it's just really, really cute!Recently I also put my little glow in the dark Fimo bunny and Totoro that I made on there and they glow very nicely next to the lit up slice of lemon.

To check out other blogger's bedsides head over to Mike's!

Amigurumi Sweetness

2009-10-23T20:58:00.006+10:00

Today I was lurking around around my local bookshop (as usual) when I came across this little gem of a crochet book called Super Cute by Annie Obaachan. You know a book's going to be good when it has a title like that!

The book is full of super sweet little animals. From budgies and penguins to sausage dogs and goldfish this book has lots of quirky little friends to crochet. I am particularly in love with the itty bitty hamsters:

Now all I have to do is learn to crochet properly....

22# Book Week

2009-10-22T20:38:00.009+10:00

Wow what a week! Things have been so busy at work that creatively things have been very quiet indeed. However the highlight of the week would have to be the release of the new Matthew Reilly book. Now I'm sure you are probably thinking Matthew Reilly!?! but I have to admit I absolutely love his work. If you want something action packed, fast paced and just a good read then you would love his books.

I know there are people out there that turn their nose up at his books but even though they are not literary classics they are a lot of fun. I think my love of his books stems from my love of good old fashion action thrillers like Aliens and Terminator.

I absolutely love reading and I think that's why I love blogs so much. I personally think that anything that gets people reading is a good thing. I'd love to know if you have read any of Matthew Reilly's books or if there is one series which you always love to read?

I think this picture I bought on Etsy by Aunty Cookie pretty much sums me up in a nutshell.

Now I just have to hang out for the new Kinsey Millhone book by Sue Grafton. Hmmm I think I feel like a quarter pounder......

What's Hot & What's Not Wednesday

2009-10-21T20:52:00.016+10:00

Thank God for What's Hot and What's Not Wednesday because without it I would have no idea what to blog about today!

So, What's Hot?

- Seeing 500 Days of Summer before its run finishes at the cinemas. I loved this movie because it was something really original and so much better than the usual 'boy meets girl' storyline. Plus it was just damn funny. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a cutie.

- Recieving my new issue of delicious. in the mail and reading the new Donna Hay magazine. Mmm....cookies....

- Being able to buy the new issue of Frankie magazine tomorrow! Total yay-ness all 'round!

- The release of the New Moon soundtrack. Yes, I like Twilight. Go on. Make fun of me. But remember i've told you before that i'm a total nerd. What did you expect?

What's Not?

- Uni exams. Having to study for uni exams. So very, very boring. I'd rather be crafting!

- Figuring out what to cook for dinner every night. Sure I like to cook, but it's hard to decide on what to cook every night. I wish I could have cupcakes for dinner. That would definitely go under Hot!

Let me show you a little secret............

2009-10-20T20:41:00.010+10:00

This is the little room we found hidden out the back of our new house. When we inspected the property the tenants had piles of junk stacked to the ceiling and we were unable to see what a hidden gem it really was. It is just a small L shaped room but I am hoping to turn into my own little sewing and craft room.

It comes with some fairly retro fittings like this yellow light fitting, and

some vintage wallpaper which apart from the dirt and gecko poop is in pretty good condition

but this would have to be my favourite part. The view over my own backyard. I can't wait to get in there to clean it all up!

My Place and Yours: On the Shelf

2009-10-19T17:38:00.013+10:00

I was passing by Meet Me at Mikes yesterday (i'm a long time lurker there) and saw the meme called My Place and Yours and Pip's theme is On the Shelf. So without much further ado here is what's on my shelf (or shelves to be exact):Cookbooks! I can't help myself when it comes to buying them and now i'm a certified cookbook junkie. Nigella and Jamie are my faves. Is there a rehab clinic for an addiciton like this? Betty Ford for book junkies?

A whole bunch of stuff! This shelf is above my desk and as you can see it's chock full of little bits and pieces i've collected plus some of my Uni textbooks. It's really hard to dust though!

Sarah will post a pic of her shelf tomorrow, and you can bet that hers will be a hell of alot neater than mine!

Rubber Stamp-y Fun

2009-10-18T21:22:00.009+10:00

Today I finally tried out the super cute Love Stamp Set by O-Check Design Graphics that I bought recently from one of my fave shops in Bulimba, Coming Up Roses.

I love the quirky little designs and they're perfect stamped on to gift tags to make a present that extra bit special.

17# Shake and Bake

2009-10-17T20:19:00.010+10:00

Today for the first time in awhile I actually had the time to take it a bit easier and fit in some baking. I have had the Crabapple Bakery Cookbook by Jennifer Graham for a little while now and despite drooling over the pages had not actually had a chance to make any of the yummy cupcakes.

So with the time and the fact that I have been invited to the Brisbane Brown Owl meeting tomorrow I decided to get baking...........

It was great to have the time to make something a bit special. Since my husband was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease last year I have had to really be creative and cook most meals from scratch. I have been lucky to find some great gluten free packet mixes for cakes but today I thought I would try a normal cupcake recipe and simply replace the normal plain flour with gluten free plain flour. This was with some trepidation I must admit.

I was actually quite surprised with the final result. I have found particularly when making pikelets that the gluten free flour can not rise quite as well as normal flour but the cupcakes rose really well, almost too well. I also found the texture to be a lot more lighter and fluffier with the gluten free flour.

Please excuse the icing though it was my first attempt at using a piping bag :)

My Creative Space

2009-10-16T10:40:00.008+10:00

Well, seeing as it is my turn to post I thought i'd be a typical little sister and follow Sarah's lead by showing you all what i'm working on at the moment.

I am part way through the super-cool cross stitch pattern by LoungeKat which is featured in the latest issue of Mixtape. I have just finished the lettering and am now trying to figure out the best way to tackle all of the the outer detail.

I haven't done any cross stitching in forever as I hadn't really been inspired by any patterns but when I saw this one I just had to do it. I love its uniqueness and quirkiness- you don't see many cross stitch charts with skulls in them!

I am now on the hunt to find other cool patterns. It would be great if there were more cross stitch patterns like the ones that Sublime Stitching have for embroidery... which brings me to my new endeavour- learning embroidery! I have totally fallen in love with the gorgeous designs on the site, especially those from the Artist Series. I have also swiped a Sublime Stitching book from Sarah so i'm pretty well set! I've never really embroidered anything before as i've always thought it was too hard but now that i've seen all the cool designs out there I can't resist giving it a go!

If anyone has any pics on their blog of any projects they've embroidered or cross stitched i'd love to have a peek!

My creative space

2009-10-15T20:32:00.007+10:00

Wow I can't believe we are up to Day 15 already, time flies when your having fun (enter tired sigh here).

Today my creative space is the craft project currently occupying (or should I say engulfing) my dining room table. I have decided this year to to try and get a head start on some crafty projects for Christmas. Did she just mention the C Word, I hear you all crying out. I know, I know it is still early days but most years I always have grand plans which end up falling by the way side. It is hard with a full time job to try and fit it all in but this year I am going to triumph!

During all my blog surfing lately I have come across some really beautiful projects all revolving around creating garlands. This tutorial at dottieangel is just stunning and inspired me to maybe make my own garland. Another blog (do you think I can find it) used paper to create a similar effect. It used a technique similar to this.

As you can see from the photos I have recycled some old Christmas shopping bags from last year, particularily one from Crabtree and Evelyn. Using some cookie cutters as templates I managed to cut out lots of different shapes with different patterns. All I can say is thank god for the movie length Jonathan Creek on Sunday night which gave me ample entertainment while cutting most of them out (whose stupid idea was that anyway!).

I am hoping to use some baking paper to sew each individual cut out into a beautiful Christmas garland. I promise more pictures to come, stay tuned.

What's Hot and What's Not

2009-10-14T19:28:00.013+10:00

HOT:

1. Roller derby
On Tuesday we threw caution to the wind and went out to the movies on a school night. We saw Whip It and it was well worth trip. It made me want to go out and see some derby here in Brisbane and break out the skates. Go Girls!

2. Wednesday Market Day at UQ
I'm very lucky to have a market appear every Wednesday right at work. It is something to look forward to, in a normally uneventful work week. I especially love this time of year when the most delicious strawberries are on offer. (Please excuse the quality of the photo I was afraid that if I had waited until tonight there may not have been any left to photograph).

3. Holidays
In just a few weeks time it will finally be holiday time. We are lucky enough to be heading off to Japan for 8 days and I can't wait! The autumn leaves, all the cute fabric and stationary. What more can you say.

Photo courtesy of Kamoda on Flickr

NOT:

1. More Dust !
Today another dust cloud made it's way into Brisbane. While it was not as bad as the red dust of previous weeks it is still a major pain especially with my asthma.

2. Holidays
The fact I still have 12 days left at work before the above mentioned holidays!

Macrame Owl Goodness!

2009-10-13T21:41:00.012+10:00

I got the coolest surprise today when I opened my letterbox and found two super awesome owls from Ange!

I just love their cute retro-ness and they now have a happy new home in my room.
However I'm now thinking they would look rather lovely hanging over my sewing desk instead so they will be relocated once I (okay, my Dad) has put some hooks into the wall!
So a BIG thank you to Ange for the new resident owls, I just love them!

12# Eye Spy My Favourite Corner of the house.......

2009-10-12T19:24:00.009+10:00

I was having a look around blogland today (don't tell my boss) and came across this post by Pip. I followed the trail back to Cindy at bugandpop and discovered eye-spy sunday. So even though I'm a bit late I thought I would play along.

Since moving into our new little home, my favourite place would definitely be the small nook behind our front door.

When we bought the house there was a built in desk and cupboard but since then I have made a few little renovations.....

(i.e. ripping the guts out of it )

It is a great little spot to store all my stationary and to do small crafts like stamping. The window provides lots of light and makes it a very cheerful place to sit. I just adore the glass cupboards built into the wall. They are perfect for housing my collection of bits and pieces and is a handy spot for storing vases and candles all in one spot.

Crafty book goodness!

2009-10-11T20:45:00.008+10:00

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have acquired a lovely new crafty book by Cath Kidston called Make! It is full of Cath's famous fabric designs that you can photocopy and use in your own projects. I particularly heart the bird and star designs. The book is mainly concerned with the decoration and application of embroidery and designs onto things like bags, towels, socks and clothes. The pictures are gorgeous and colourful and very inspiring- the little pink songbird socks are especially adorable!

The coolest thing about the book is that you get a plain tote to use and decorate as your first project. I think I might cover mine in little multi-coloured stars. Watch this space to see how it goes. Knowing my hand sewing skills it's sure to be interesting! (Read: dodgy).

And the good news is that Cath has another book called Sew! coming out in a couple of weeks for the die hard sewers out there. The book also includes some of her trademark fabric to make a bag with. I can't wait!

Mmm...Cheesecake

2009-10-10T17:15:00.011+10:00

Besides crafting another hobby of mine is cooking and especially baking. So therefore I deemed that for my Blogtoberfest post today I would show you the cheesecake that Mum and I made together for Dad's birthday. (Happy Birthday Dad!)

I love sweet things (who doesn't?) and as a result I really love collecting all sorts of cookbooks that support my habit. I have around 50 so far and I plan to keep on adding to my collection in the future. They're just so addictive! The beautiful, tummy-rumbling inducing photos, the yummy recipes, I mean even if you don't actually like cooking you can still have fun flipping through them. I particularly love Nigella Lawson, the Goddess of the kitchen and Jamie Oliver. Nigella has the most gorgeous cookbooks and I dare you to read one and not want to cook something! Her chocolate peanut butter cups really are drool inducing.

At the moment I am coveting Jamie's new book Jamie's America. At the first possible opportunity I am so getting myself a copy! Unfortunately that may not be for a while because I spent the last of my money buying Kath Kidston's Make book. Dammit.

The cheesecake Mum and I made is a New York baked cheesecake from the good ol' Australian Women's Weekly and it was goooood! (If I do say so myself.) I was really happy with how it turned out and it was very easy to make it gluten free by using rice cookies for the base. Actually, the rice cookies were heaps tastier as a base than the usual Nice biscuits I use.

I believe everything tastes better when it's home made, and this cheesecake was definitely better than a store bought one. The recipe is one I will certainly use again and besides, who doesn't love an old fashioned dessert anyway?

Does anyone have any favourite retro desserts they couldn't live without? I'd love to hear about them!

Brisvegas shopping.....

2009-10-09T21:34:00.005+10:00

Today I thought I might share a couple of my favourite shops in Brisbane at the moment. Unfortunately for my husband, these are two shops that I can not seem to stay away from:

Funky Fabrix

(Photos courtesy of the Funky Fabrix website)

While Funky Fabrix have an awesome online shop and blog they also have a retail shop situated in Mitchelton, Brisbane. The shop is chock full of new and vintage fabric as well as handmade items such as bags, buttons and softies. I just love going in there to take in all the beautiful fabric and be inspired to get sewing.

My other favourite shop at the moment is Nook in West End.

If ever there was a shop created just for me, this would be the place. It has what I believe is the best range of handmade items in Brisbane. Stock has been sourced from all over the and my heart but skips a beat every time I go in there. From Able and Game cards to bags made by local BrisStyle girls Bec & Jade of Beckybean it has something unique for everyone.

8# From little things big things grow.....

2009-10-08T20:55:00.017+10:00

Well it been a week since signing up for Blogtoberfest and things are going A OK. It's not too late to join in the fun or should I say insanity!

Today I thought I might share with you the project that got me back into the world of crafting and discovering the amazing online crafting community.

I have always love making things since I was a kid. My first official foray into stitching was due to my 6th grade teacher, who during the year managed to teach us only two things a) how to use deodorant (you know that age) and B) how to cross stitch. All the important things in life!

She made the whole class learn how to cross stitch, even the boys, and we all managed to create a cross stitch Easter Egg for our families. (I wish I had a photo to show but I might have to pop over to the parents and pull it out).

I was immediately hooked and it was not long until I was a permanent fixture down at our local craft shop. I crafted and stitched into my teens but it was here that I began to become disillusioned by the Nana style patterns out there.

It was not until I received this for Christmas last year, from my beautiful husband that I rekindled my love of making my own handmade goodies. Of course there were the requisite holes and stressful moments but I had no idea that I could actually hand sew my own little softie.

I was so excited when I had finished Miss Buttons that I noticed the pattern recommended that you upload a picture of your completed Miss to the Sew Your Own album on their website. After excitedly uploading my picture I noticed just how many other people had done the same thing and from here it helped me to discover just how far things had come in recent years in the crafting community and all the wonderful modern interpretations out there.

I am now officially addicted and can't remember what life was like with out it. Thank you Miss Buttons :)

Holey Moley it's a Sock Monkey!

2009-10-07T15:44:00.008+10:00

I know this post is a day late but I swear that I really did finish my sock monkey yesterday, I just decided to hold off until posting today. Really!!! I swear on my fabric stash!
As you can see Mr Sock Monkey looks very "rustic", or as Sarah would say, "shabby chic". Or you could say he's just plain dodgy looking.

There is some truly craptastic hand stitching going on here, and I somehow managed to sew on one ear higher than the other. The stitches on his head give him a lovely frontal-lobe lobotomy look, but he can still read his Mixtape zine so it's all good!

Despite the questionable workmanship, I still love him and his sock monkey adorable-ness.

Has anyone else out there in crafty blog land made any sock monkeys? If you have i'd love to see any pics you have of them!

Op shop fun....

2009-10-06T20:09:00.014+10:00

Here are a few of my favourite bits and pieces that I have come across while op shopping over the past few weeks................

These beautiful embroidered hankies may come in handy for a project or two. I have read a few blogs where people have been using handkerchief's in new ways to make some interesting projects, like here at Beach Vintage.

I came across this awesome collection of vintage playing cards, which have the most beautiful images....

and finally this beautiful tablecloth which was an absolute bargain and looks a million dollars as a background and table covering. I love the use of black, pink and white in the pattern, it is really fresh combination of colour.

Birdbrained!

2009-10-05T20:27:00.014+10:00

Well i'm so glad todays' topic is birds! I love birds. Whenever I see something with a bird on it I want to buy it. It can get rather expensive. I especially love owls. I mean, how could you not love them? Their big eyes, their cute sort-of-round shape, their lovely hooting, the way they can swoop down and carry off squirrels...well perhaps not the last part. I really like squirrels too.

I especially love how people are using birds in their crafting. From softie owls to bird themed crosstitch patterns, jewellery and paintings, I just love looking at peoples' different interpretations of birds.

One of my recent bird acquisitions is a gorgeous owl tealight holder by Have You Met Miss Jones which was a present from my Mum.

You can't tell from the photo but when you light it up it glows beautifully from within.

Does anyone else out there have a love of collecting birds? Or is perhaps doing any crafting with birds as the feature? I'd love to know!

Oh and as for the sock monkey, I hope to finish him off tomorrow. Watch this space! Hopefully he will come out actually looking like a sock monkey. At the moment I have my doubts.

5# Storage Fun: i.e. how to manage your stash (of craft that is)...

2009-10-05T09:14:00.001+10:00

Lately I have been trying to amalgamate all my crafty bits and pieces into a more organized collection(easier said then done). I was over at Mum and Dad's on the weekend, where Mum was still trying to turn my old room into her own little retreat. The only problem is the small collection or should I say hoard of my childhood belongings still laying around. Mum is under the belief that I must have been Andy Warhol in another life because she has never seen someone keep so much crap. I mean, come on, those movie stubs from 1995 are really going to come in handy one day.

I managed to clear out most of my stuff and in the process we came across our old video collection.

Much to my Mum's dismay I was determined to find a crafty way to utilize them. It seemed such a shame to get rid of the videos, when there had to be a use for them (especially the Bananarama video, it had be some kind of heirloom?#).

So I bundled them up to take home and then today I had a thought! What about take out the labels and use as storage to organize my every growing collection of vintage buttons, beads and other nick naks.

As you can see they turned out pretty handy.

I think they are a really great way to store things like buttons and other crafty supplies because they are clear and a label can be slipped into the old plastic lining which previously held the movie label. I'm sure everyone out there has a few old videos laying around the house ready to use.

Now to just make the labels ........

maybe tomorrow.

When Sewing Machines Go Bad...

2009-10-04T19:26:00.000+10:00

Since it's day four of Blogtoberfest and my turn to post, I thought I would make a cute little sock monkey and post some pics of that. Unfortunately several things went wrong along the way...

Firstly, I sewed one of his arms the wrong way out. I didn't realise this until I had spent a copious amount of time re-sewing it because it had a hole in it. So I had to cut a new arm from a new sock.

Secondly, my sewing machine went crazy and appeared to have a big tangle of thread stuck under the mechanism of the bobbin. I then had the genius idea of using a sewing needle to fish it out. I then lost said needle inside of the sewing machine. It made a lovely rattling noise whenever I moved it around. Thus began the long job of trying to get the tangle and the needle out of the machine. So to cut a long story short, a phone call to Sarah, alot of help from my Dad (thanks Dad!) and the complete removal of the casing of my machine and voila! The needle! Unfortunately I also discovered that there was no actual tangle in the bobbin mechanism and therefore using the needle in the first place was absoultely pointless.

So with my machine finally put back together and for some reason now working perfectly, I got back to working on my sock monkey.

But... then I sewed the tail the wrong way out (apparently I still hadn't learned my lesson) and had to cut a new one. Then I finally had all the limbs made and was stuffing the body with polyfill....until I ran out of it. So that's why I have no sock monkey picture to post and why I have to go to Lincraft tomorrow.

But maybe, just maybe, there will be a sock monkey to post tomorrow... or maybe Tuesday...

#3 Felties Fun

2009-10-03T18:33:00.000+10:00

Last week while picking up our thai takeway at Bulimba (which happens to be right next door to one of my favourite bookstores fancy that!) I stumbled across this little gem written by Nelly Pailloux......

It is an amazing little book which is chock full of little felties to make. As you can see the book is quite similar to Softies exept everything is this book is made from felt. The book is sooo cute and is full of the most adorable little creatures to sew. The patterns and instructions are very easy to follow (unlike many a celebrity cookbook) and I was really happy with how they turned out. I managed to make the 'Hoodie Wolf' and the 'Cute Chihuahua'.

They are perfect small projects which can be done in a small amount of time and once the pieces have been cut it is a very mobile craft project. I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest to the recent Brisbane Brown Owls meeting and it was the perfect small project to take a long and complete over coffee.

Reader disclaimer: Please note that A) the quality of the photos contained in this post may look like they were taken in a darkened room, well, because they were and B) contain enough sugary cuteness to put a person into a coma.

2# Rocktober...................

2009-10-03T13:30:00.000+10:00

Ahh music what better place to start in order to really get to know a person. Now I could write about all the cool, hip, recent music that I am listening to at the moment but wheres the fun in that! I want to talk about all those CD's and songs which lay hiding in your iPod collection, only to emerge during those unfortunate party situations where some one puts it on shuffle.

you know which ones I'm talking about....

Exhibit A:

Now what child of the 80's does not remember the joyful sounds of Huey Lewis and The News. Now I do have to admit that this may be more of a recent purchase than I care to admit (damn itunes) and all i can say is 'If this is it' then 'I'm stuck with you'. Now I can hear the proverbial cringes from here and it you get it, then you are as sad as me. Moving on....

Exhibit B:

Well what can i say about this one... I am still trying to understand the concept and possible symbolism of the song onion skin, but despite this conundrum I still can't get enough of it. If anyone out there knows the significance of this song I would be happy to know.

This is just a small example of the hidden depths of my music collection but I wonder what is lurking in yours?? All you can do is sit back and embrace the music collection that you have because it is probably a mixtape unlike anyone else's in the world.

Tomorrow, thanks to escaping the prison that is work, I promise to post some crafty goodness.

Reader Disclaimer : Please note listening to any of the music listed above may A: Seriously effect your street creed, B: attract the elderly or C: induce an unstoppable urge to get down and boogie.

Blogtoberfest!

2009-10-01T22:37:00.000+10:00

Well Sarah just informed me about an hour ago that she had signed us up for Blogtoberfest (gee thanks sis!) While I was slightly alarmed at first at having to find something vaguely interesting to write about for a month I now think that it will be a lot of fun. I love that there are kooky topic suggestions for every day of the month (thank God!) and really who could resist participating in something with such a cute name? Plus it is a good poke in the arm to blog more regularly!

Since the first topic is Knocktober I will tell you a few things about me...

Basically I am what I refer to as a "socially functioning nerd" in that i'm a nerd who actually has some social skills. I love geeky stuff like The Lord of the Rings, Buffy, Miyazaki films and anime. I also believe I should have been born in Japan, the land of Hello Kitty and other absurdly cute fluffy things.

The nerdy highlight of my life recently was meeting Ben Barnes (aka Prince Caspian) at the set of The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Best-day-ever!

While Sarah and I have always been into the crafty stuff, I got back into it again recently when Sarah told me about all the cool craft blogs out there. Then she said she wanted to learn to sew, so in true little sister fashion I tagged along and started doing it too! Plus I started watching Martha Stewart on the How To channel. Martha can be very persuasive.

Well that's a bit about me. Tomorrow it looks like I will be writing about music. If I remember that is, because another thing about me is that I tend to forget stuff. So therefore I might be writing about music tomorrow.

and so it begins........

2009-09-30T21:33:00.000+10:00

Well its official, I have signed up for the Blogtoberfest!

Now this is a pretty scary concept for someone who has until recently been quietly stalking the many creative blogs on offer. I was inspired to join in after reading a post over at Badskirt . I am hoping this will be a good opportunity to get started on my blogging career.

She has suggested via the Blogtober Idea Hub that 'Knocktober' maybe a good place to start. Well what can I say, I am a married twentysomething ( ie late twenties) girl living in sunny Brisbane. I have recently rediscovered my love of crafting and finally finding a use for all the bits and pieces that I have picked up opping over the years. My latest toy is my new iphone which has come in very handy when trying to settle those pesky little arguments which only the help of imbd can solve. Unfortunately for me my husband's latest toy is his new power drill. I'm not sure if my house will survive.

I am a little concerned that with a full time job I may find it hard to keep up the pace but with the state of television at the moment (bringing back Hey Hey Its Saturday, come on!#) I think I may have plenty of time on my hands. So if you too are feeling inspired and up to the challenge check out TinnieGirl and sign up.

Reader Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee the content of this post, A: makes sense, B: will actually go to the web links contained in this post and C: does not contain more than a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Blame it on swine flu...

2009-06-23T17:10:00.000+10:00

Don't you just love it when sewing projects don't go according to plan? Above is a picture of what was meant to be a piggy heat pack for a friend's birthday present. She lives in chilly Canberra, so I thought a schnuggly-wuggly heat pack would be the perfect present. Plus it's in the shape of a pig, which just makes it even better!

Unfortunately my sewing machine doesn't like the thick chenille fabric that the piggy is made of, and for fear of breaking my lovely new machine, the project had to be abandoned until a later time. Or until Sarah can show me which correct foot and needle to use on the machine. I can't figure this out for myself because I lost the bloody sewing machine manual. Nicely done!

So it looks like this little piggy won't be going to market, or to Canberra, for a while! Perhaps it will finished in time for winter next year. Fingers crossed. (Sorry Lisa, but i'm glad you enjoyed the shop bought heat pack I got for you instead!)

Random fabric cuteness

2009-06-10T21:10:00.000+10:00

I just had to show off some of my random favourite fabrics which of course are the ones covered with cute animals!

Is there anyone out there that doesn't like Sock Monkey? So quirky and unique, I especially love these pogo stick-hopping ones.

The little piggies are so adorable and like the little animal fabric underneath it in the pic, is made in Japan. Why are the Japanese so great at coming up with the cutest, most original fabric designs? All I need is some Hello Kitty fabric and I will be in Heaven. (Especially if it's pink).

The goldfish fabric was an amazing find from my local sewing shop and I was so thrilled when I came across it. Desigend by Heather Ross, I recognised the pattern from some kitschy stationery I had bought entitled "Goldfish I Have Loved (too much?)". Who could resist itty bitty goldfish with names like Bubbles, Swimmy, Whit, Cliff and Spooky? (Perhaps she's an X-Files fan?)

Just in time for Easter...

2009-03-29T15:25:00.000+10:00

I was sent the instructions to make this cute little Easter bunny by Sarah. The instructions said to make the bunnies out of cashmere, but since I didn't happen to have any laying around I used some extra fuzzy polar fleece instead. I think he turned out rather well and would be a great Easter gift if you want to give something other than the usual chocolate or if you're just being a bit cheap this year! (Note to Sarah: guess what you're getting for Easter!)

As you can see they quite like living in the herb garden, but unfortunately this leaves them open to being eaten by the resident poodle.

If you want to make one yourself then go to: http://blog.betzwhite.com/2007/03/cashmere-bunny-tutorial.html

But be warned! Once you start making them they may start multiplying like, well, rabbits.

2009-03-22T16:39:00.000+10:00

Well at present you could say our blog is looking about as naked as this Cupie doll, but we have to start somewhere.....