tips for tiny tables!

Don't leave them all sad-white-boring-generic-ikea-style!!!....And that's an order!!!


I used standard paint tester pots for colour and then lashings of varnish to protect them from spills scrapes and of course (this is house of spoon) boiling hot mugs of tea.

Aren't they fun?? The first one (cloudy sky) was done free-brush style but i didn't fancy tackling freehand roses....they were going to take FOREVER, so we settled for stencilling, altough i'll admit that i prefer the freehand feel...i think the stencils look a little rigid.....but i'll get over it!

do you love wood...?

The title of this post is just for poog, but the substance was for pil... for christmas that is! This was SuperD's contribution to pil's pressies.


I really think i must be rubbing off on him...he commented last night that even when i spilt something it formed into the shape of a heart!!

That is probably true...my dad always said that everywhere i sat down in his house, i left little specks of glitter behind me....i like to think it was the fairy dust rubbing off...although it's more likely to have been my flamboyant fashion that was to blame!

little-laptop-love

So here's a pic of gil's baby....

Isn't he a beautiful little mini laptop?...huh?....what's that?.....you're saying he looks pretty vulnerable and cold and is in dire need of a fun sleeping bag? You know...that's exactly what we thought!!!

I quilted a little pouch in army print fabric with little kitchy rainbow rosebuds on the inside - to reflect the unique personality that is gil... and sewed her quote-of-choice (See Pearl Jam lyrics) on the flap and my quote-of-choice (See Elvis film The Trouble with Girls) on the inside. You'll notice that the flowers are as yet just pinned on...i wasn't sure what type she'd want on the front (we went for the little pink and white crocheted ones with big yellow centres)

I used a big thick piece of black elastic (you can see the ends poking out round the little lid flap)which is stretched and snapped round the back to close and keep the little sleeping bag nice and cosy (i'm refusing to call this a laptop "case"...waaaaay too mainstream)

I put a little window for her perrrsonal deeeetails, just in case she loses it and they don't recognise her from the picture on the front ...hey it could happen...!?! And the little yellow stars and keychain are for holding usb disks and pencils or whatever. (Please ignore the fact that the inner panel is a little off the square...my sewing machine got hungry halfway through seaming it and started munching the fabric, pulling it a bit lop-sided!!!)

Here in northern ireland it is our dubious privilege to be able to claim dual nationality, Irish and British. But as lil' gill is a strong defender of all things green and shamrocky.....i had to add something irishy just for her.

Enter little irish dancer embroidery (see http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/for patterns of more nationalities)

Long live little-laptop-love!!!

Everybody ought to know...

It's pretty obvious by now....and it was only a matter of time before I expressed it in "scarf-form" for SuperD on his biking trips to keep his little italian chin warm from the chilly northern irish winds!

I printed out the graffiti writing from the internet and "stanley-knifed" it out of acetate sheets before stippling white fabric paint over the templates on to fluffy black fleece. The little heads were drawn free-hand but i had to stencil them in bits (hence SuperD's mini handlebar "tash" is a little skew-wiff)

*UPDATE*

I loved D's sooo much that i made a spoon-version too!

Made the same way with neon pink paint instead...I also added some pearlescent pink beads at the ends, i offered this option to SuperD for his......but......he decided to pass. His loss!

craft bag!

so i made a new craft bag!!!

All about my love of stitching....and SuperD of course!!

The little white daisies are crochet-ed (hmm...how do write that???...croched??...ooo getting dangerous)

o well....i *LOVE* it!!

AHHHH!!....it's CROCHET-ZILLA!

i was having a little whinge about how, in wee northern ireland, we just don't get access to the truly cool craft supplies....because i really wanted a big crochet hook...i mean a REALLY BIG one.....and it just wasn't coming true.
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enter SuperD and *CROCHET-ZILLA* was born!

he is super-ultra-brilliant because, not only does he help to produce hand-made stuff.....he is actually hand-made himself!!!

he's big..... and proud of it!!!!!

and he lets me do stuff like this!!!!! YAY!

'cos i don't have a wooden heart...but my mum does!

That song (the Elvis version of course) will be going through my head all day now for sure!

We were having a (partially) handmade Christmas this year and so I am posting one of the little pressies that SuperD made...this one was for my mum.

I *LOVE & ADORE* the little spotty mushroom!!! cute-tastic!!!

Blue sky thinking

How do you make a tiny room feel huge....? In these dark dreary mornings you need something to remind you that summer is on the way...

...enter lil'pill, brush in hand.

A couple of days on a rickety mini-ladder and i've got ceiling art like i've always dreamed of in my little tiny office room!!! She even signed it, so officially my little mini office is now priceless.

As ever, my photos SUCK! but it is totally gorgeous and even has a little black bird hidden somewhere in the clouds!!!

SuperD couldn't resist cutting a burning sun template for the light and we left it plain wood to match the curtain pole and shelves. FUN!

la dolce vita

On these chilly dark nights which are "wind-issimo"...

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(should really be "wind-issimi" since it's plural...lol)

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...down the island where we call home, there really is no place i'd rather be than home home HOME!!!

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SuperD captures the feeling in wood and spoon adds sparkle (and personalisation of course...lol)

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"Quick D...think of a word that describes me and write it on a wooden heart........"

"yeah.......soooooo true!!!"

new year napkins

ok this is perhaps a bit of a lame-easy craft but i have to say...i love how cheesy it is!!

I was having a new year's eve dinner party at my house and had all of 20mins to get decorating....no time for any fabulous crafting adventures so settled for...yes you guessed it...personalisation (which i *love*) of the napkins.

The theme was red and cream, so i quickly cut out 2 large dangling decorations reading 2-0-0-9 (dangling vertically of course) from red shiny wrapping paper and hung them from the chandelier (spelling?) and i (when i say "i" here, read: "Dario"....because i was too busy screaming about how i had run out of pritt-stick and could only make 2 dangly decorations when i had cut out giant numbers enough for 4) sprinkled some red tinsel fronds, around the table and hoked out cream napkins.

Next step was to choose a motif and i went for simple rosebud in red, with everyone's name stamped just below it...this is poog's one....obviously

I will never use boring napkins again....personalising RULES!!!!