Friday, October 11, 2013
Ralph, don't eat the paste!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
This is my whirly thing
Not content to just have butterflies hanging from the ceiling, I made a whirly thing and hung it in the hall. I then forgot about it and scared the cheeses* out of myself at 3am this morning when I walked into it. Anyway, it was quickly done yesterday afternoon and I have been considering how to make a better one... I am thinking of using card instead of corrugated cardboard so it curves evenly and using paints instead of textas. Still, this one whirls pretty well and I am thinking of putting a heap of them on the back veranda so they can twirl about the place. If you are interested, it is just a spiral cut out of cardboard and hung on a string- nothing to it really but it looks nice.
This is my whirly thing** |
I have also been busily sewing things, and finished a monogramed pillow slip this afternoon. I am really happy with how it turned out and am planning on making a matching flat sheet to go with it... perhaps with some butterflies. I am quite liking butterflies at the moment. Anyway, if you are interested in making one too, the monogram design came from Needle and Thread (http://www.needlenthread.com/2008/06/monograms-for-hand-embroidery-index.html) and the crochet border instructions came from You Go Girl (http://yougogirl.typepad.com/you_go_girl/2010/03/crochet-like-crazy.html)
*Trying to give up casual swearing and have been coming up with alternatives, not sure if it really counts when the alternative sounds remarkably similar to the real thing when said out loud though
** Red Dwarf fans will probably understand this quote from the cat, for those who don't know here it is...
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Its a bird. No, it's a plane. No, it's a butterfly!
Google to the rescue, and I decided to make a superhero cape. I got the instructions for the cape from here; http://www.momsrising.org/blog/how-to-make-a-superhero-cape-by-lara-from-howdoesshe/ and the logo from here; http://averseembrace.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/super-series/.
It took two nights to make up, but I think it turned out quite well. The birthday boy's name started with an 'L' so I thought it was a nice touch to customise it for him. I was told that it was good timing since he has just started taking an interest in superheroes and enjoys wearing it everywhere (always nice when you make something that someone really likes).
I have also been busy making a butterfly mobile based on the one in this blog; http://heartlandpaper.typepad.com/heartland_paper/2009/08/handmade-chandeliers-on-studio-5.html. I think the one in the blog is beautiful, but wouldn't look like much from below, so I have modified it a bit.
I am still working on it, so I'll post how I did it once it is finished. In the meantime, here is the almost finished mobile (please excuse my blurry photo, the butterflies are constantly moving and are hard to get on camera)...
It makes me think of the birds I saw this morning circling in the sky
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
I am not a fly!
Since this isn't my first experience with large spiders (you can read all about it here) I was keen to get rid of it before it produced a million tiny spiders to haunt me. So I sprayed it with fly spray but it didn't do much except hop towards me (I guess the spray was a bit cold). After a few failed squirts I realised it was immune to fly spray and since I didn't have any spider spray I bludgeoned it to death with the can (it took a few goes but eventually the fly spray won out, even if it wasn't used in the way intended on the can).
I have mentioned the horrendous bug problem to the people who manage the property (in the real world they would be called real estate agents, but here they are better known as our glorious overlords who would be quite at home in a mediaeval feudal society) and was told they would be getting a person out to spray the place soon. That was 7 months ago, so I am guessing soon means something different to our glorious overlords than it does to normal people. So for now I will just have to keep a tin of fly spray handy in order to beat the bugs to death while I wait for 'soon' or die of old age.
Also, I put the flatted spider carcass in the garden as a warning to other big ass spiders
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Please could you direct me to the foolish!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Its not a spice rack!
In my usual style, after proudly announcing I was back to blogging I left my charger in Darwin and couldn't log onto the internet for a week.
I may possibly be addicted to the internet...
and sugar...
Anyway, I became inspired by pinterest (if you have been to pinterest this probably doesn't amaze you- pinterest could probably inspire moss) after seeing a 'pin' for a spice rack turned into a nail polish rack.
It was so amazing it was repinned multiple times and then I stumbled across Anna White's instructions for a jewelry cabinet (Anna White- Wall Jewelry Cabinet) I decided the cosmos was clearly telling me to find a home for my growing collection of nail polish. For those of you who witnessed me smash a window on the far side of the woodwork shop after failing to hold a block of wood on the band sander properly during wood work class at school prepared to be stunned.
So I went the the hardware store and spent more on wood and nails than the whole thing is probably worth. Its probably best to include the satisfying experience in the end price, that way its relatively cheap.
Ta-da!!!
I still have to paint it and put my fancy fabric on the backing board but you get the idea. Its a little wonky, but I am blaming the bendy wood for that (when Anna says to check the wood is straight, you should listen to Anna).
I'll post a photo of the finished piece of amazing once its all painted and stuff.
Before I go, I thought I would share my new great wall of tea. I was given some delicious tea for my birthday and luckily have recently constructed a shelf to house it all. I think it is far too nice to have it all shut away in a cupboard.
One day I will have an antique dresser specifically dedicated to the preparation of all kinds of hot drinks and it will be a short distance from a fire place with comfy deep armchairs so I can sip my tea in front of a fire (possibly falling asleep, possibly dribbling all over myself).
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The clay bat concussed the cat
I spent the evening last night painting glaze onto clay bats that are destined to go on a wall somewhere. Possibly somewhere there are bats... or not (well there will be once these ones are glued wherever they are going to get glued- hopefully firmly since these things have a bit of heft to them. I can imagine some poor person, or stray dog, stopping to sit by a shady wall, possibly to snack on a tropical fruit, only to have a bat to fall on them... all that effort smashed). I'm not entirely sure of the grand plan for them (possibly obvious by my opening sentences), although I do know they will end up somewhere public. Which is why I haven't signed my bat. This way they won't know who to blame.
After spending far too much time with the vampire genre lately, I made an owl in an act of rebellious-ness. I have no idea what I'll do with it. I like to think that art doesn't need a purpose, although it probably has the same degree of artistic-ness as the same thing crafted by a 6 year old. Still, I like it and can always stick a pot plant on it if nothing else