fantastic fingertips

i thought that i would end this month with a bit of a summer art that is a big part of our holidays....nail painting!!! No-one escapes from my brush, not even superD and my dad! (although their patterns tend to be a little bit more masculine: moto guzzi motorbike symbols and nationality flags etc!)
...
i could have posted all the pics of the painted toes...but some people would be grossed out by that so i thought i would stick to falsies!!! i like to try out patterns on false nails before committing to one design. These are a couple of examples of ones i've worn to events that were special to me!

The orange flowers "fluoresced" in all lights making it impossible to photo them unless in almost complete darkness....see below!!

Welcome to Italia?

SuperD decided to make a pressie to bring to Italia too. He decided on a welcome sign for the front door of their house in the mountains.

The little wooden countries were drawn free-hand (yeah..i know!!) by SuperD and were cut out IN ONE GO!! See how detailed they are...??This is the final product all painted up and accessorised with some material and straw!

... being as thrifty as we are here, the off-cuts were also used by hanging from the sign!...believe me...i was impressed!!

collar-tastic coat

For quite a while it had been my intention (and deep desire) to make a winter coat (it is even listed as one of my 43 things)
...
...this latest item doesn't really fit the bill of what i had originally intended, but i'm going to go ahead and be satisfied as if it did. The picture is a little difficult to make out because the detailks are all matt navy...See that gigantic pretentious front collar?...that's what attracted me to this pattern. It feels really funny when you wear it...funny but cool!

I think a skirt in the same material would make a really cool work suit....hmmmmm

HOT shamROCKS

so i'm reeeeeally trying to get better at using bias binding...it's kindof my nemesis...no matter how simple the task, it will contrive to crumple underneath or wrinkle and fold at the top...it is REALLY annoying!!

so on the quest to improve my binding i tried a craft that really took some awkward binding curves and joins...shamrock pot-stands!

They turned out ok and are going with us on a visit to Torino next week as thank you pressies for "gli italiani"! I can't wait!

ooh!! at the office 1

...so i am always roasting, really...i am physically unable to wear long sleeves without spontaneously combusting. So i needed a solution to wear a shirt and tie at work but avoid wrapping myself in swathes of material. I have a rack of lovely coloured shirts and need to find a solution to be able to wear them.

...

So...i started with the boring white one (in case it all went wrong!) and for model #1 - i hacked off the arms and upper back and seamed the rest giving a halter-neck shape (yes i know i could have ironed it but...i'm about to squidge it into an overflowing wardrobe so there really is no point).

maybe a bit on the low-side at the back but the shape won't support anything higher...

it was necessary to remove a panel from the centre back to make it fit correctly and so that it was no longer "blousey". Although i'm thinking that maybe two wide "straps" attached to the back of the halter and down to the lower back might make it a bit more "work-appropriate"...at the minute it is a little risque in my opinion!

So this is it all accessorised up...do you think it is work-wearable??

or is it a little....flashdance? (the scene in the seafood restaurant) All opinions gratefully accepted!

I'm going to try some different stuff with all the other shirts...watch this space!

rustic from rubbish

Another day, another frame...i almost didn't post this one, being so plain and everything....but then.....it was made with the worst quality reclaimed timber, which is obviously super-cheap. SuperD cut and sanded down the wood until it was smooth and then painted it with a warm wood stain. And since this blog is really about making things in the thrifty-est way possible, it had to go in.

I love the plain frames...nice and rustic. The painting is an original that belongs to a friend...kindof inspiring in its own way isn't it? In a "rainbow-melting-forest-kindof-way"

clown baby!

sorry about the lack of posting ...i was having internet issues..which are all but resolved now ....o boy, i have some serious posting to do to get the 10 posts before the end of August!

...

A sneaky repost of a previous craft here - I had another baby to make for and wanted to make the booties a little more FUN! So i'm thinking...fun?...emmm?....i know!....mini POMPOMS!

How i wish i could wear pink pompom shoes! Just to add to the cuteness I made a quick flowery gift box with a clear plastic sleeve and lots of pink bows...i forgot to take a picture of this, so you're going to have to trust me....it was bow-TASTIC!!!!

now to make them in a slightly bigger size....

quilted quotes!

I saw these quilted letters on the Happy Together blog and just loved the idea! I would put text everywhere if i could and i love the idea that i could make customised banners for every party occasion.

These were actually no work at all to make as i used the already quilted off-cuts from a quilt that a friend of my mama had made, which she donated to me in one of her "scrap-stash-clear-outs". She had sandwiched quilt batting between two materials and then free motion quilted the whole lot. She must have been making a circular quilt, and i ended up with the corners.

All i needed to do was draw out some letter-patterns, cut them out of the quilted off-cuts and stitch round the edges to strengthen...and there we go, customisable banners!!

I hung this one for visitors coming for an authentic homemade italian meal at our house at the weekend! YAY!!

party favours!

So we had our charity auction meal last night...two couples came for a 5-course italian meal. I used the excuse to make italian-style party favours!

These are little heat mats to remind them of the night. I had a memory of the event in the form of a sleepless night and a sore stomach following the eating of far too much rich food!!....groan (holds swollen tummy)

sweet tidings of a teddy

so i hope by now that you have checked out the posts by Christie on her fab Sweet Tidings blog. The ideas she posts always put me in such a crafty mood, and she is also super kind and leaves lovely comments on my blog that are super encouraging!

This is one of the patterns she posted a while back that i was dying to try. I love the way he turned out (ok maybe except for the wonky eye placement...i was distracted by a particularly exciting bit in the movie i was watching...oops!) but i will definitely be making more of these in nice pastel baby-colours as ornaments for the many little baby presents that are required in my world these days!

Everyone should try this one...it was a perfect "sew-while-watching-a-movie-craft"

...so thanks Christie!