Aussie Chocolate Wagon

My sister Sue wanted to know how to make the Chocolate Sleigh that I made before Christmas.
I had a few little pieces of chocolate left over from Christmas that we could use.

This is the result

We got talking, and decided that we should be able to use the same principle for other occasions.  Who doesn't like chocolate?

We have Australia Day coming up soon, so we decided to use that as our theme.

Using the following items from my online store:
Rusty Tin Wagon

                            
Aussie Slang Stickers

                                                      

Then added:
Chocolates
String and Raffia
Kangeroo Key Ring

We finished up with a fun rusty wagon filled with chocolates, with the Aussie Slang stickers on the side being pulled by a little fluffy kangeroo.  Very Australian . I loved the end result, what do you think?

 

Now l have to make another one, as my sister took this one home with her, she loved it so much!!

Do you have any ideas of how else we could make use of the chocolate sleigh idea?

Judy

Orphan Blocks

I was sorting through my fabrics today, and came across these 8 orphan blocks.  They are each 12" square, and I am not sure where they came from, or what they were for.  Each block has a name embroidered on them, so no doubt it was for a signature quilt.

I have decided to use these blocks in my Breast Cancer Drain bags.  Each side of the bag needs to be 17" x 12", so I will just be able to add a border, top and bottom, to these blocks.

 

The problem will be getting fabric to co-ordinate with the blocks.  I am going to endeavor to use fabric I already have and not purchase any new fabric.   You can see I was trying a few colour combinations in the bottom of each photo.

The first one I am going to work on is the needle-turn basket of flowers block in the second photo.

I will show you the results shortly.

Judy

 

Two Birthday Gifts

Two family members are having birthdays this week.

My nephew James is turning 21!  For BIG birthdays we all put in money and give cash, so that the recipient can buy something special, however I always like to give a little gift so that they have a "present" to open on the day.

James is having a party today, so I thought that I would make a "Morning After" kit seeing how he is celebrating his 21st birthday and may need it tomorrow.

 

I went the the local discount store and supermarket for all the goodies that I used to fill this metal tub.

All inexpensive items, as it meant to be a "fun" gift only

The items I bought:

Recover Gatorade, Mother Energy Drink, Water, Coca Cola
First aid kit, Cold Pack, Chap Stick, Panadol, Hairy Lemon Vitamin B, Mouthwash
Tissues, Cracker Biscuits, Recover Protein Bar, Mentos mints
DVD and Sunglasses

All the items were placed in the metal tub, and a little label created and tied on with Bakers Twine.

 

I am still debating whether or not I will wrap the whole tub in cellophane?

The next birthday is my sister-in-law Jennene's on Monday 14th

Once again I purchased a gift voucher, this time for a manicure and / or pedicure

Rather than just popping the voucher in with the card, I filled a gift box with cotton balls, and tied together a bottle of nail polish and a emery board with a little ribbon.  Then placed these on top of the envelope with the gift voucher.

Another fun way to present your gift, and very easy to post.

Do you also have gifts early in the year?  It is hard to think of something to give after all the Christmas shopping.

Until next time

Judy

 

Ruby Star Wrapping - New Book

A book I ordered from the "Book Depository" arrived today. Ruby Star Wrapping, creating packaging to reuse, re-give and re-love

I am so excited to try some of the projects and with 45 degrees forecast for Saturday that will be a good day to stay inside and craft.  No, I have forgotten, it is my Nephew's 21st luncheon, so I will be out socialising instead of crafting.

Maybe I can make the Gift Card Truck Softie for him??
This project uses a discarded button down shirt, and it is even better if it has a pocket that you can use for the gift card pouch.

Or maybe a gift card wallet - using scrap fabric or paper from a book or magazine or "anything"

 

Honestly there are SO many projects in this book that are practical and easy, using resources you already have within the home.

Another one that caught my eye was "Little Snack Sack" - made from scrap fabric, pop your gift in and then the sack can be reused as a snack sack 

Check out these links to see what other bloggers have been making from the book

The Boy Trifecta

A Quilters Table

Diary of A Quilter

Go ahead, buy this book for yourself, or as a gift for a friend, you will not be disappointed

Update on weather conditions - lots and lots of fire within the state ... we received a Emergency Alert text message from the RFS for a fire that was in the location of where I work.  Luckily it was contained before it reached us, but it was terribly scary for awhile.

The fire threat will not pass for a number of days, with high wind gusts hampering the fire fighters.

Take care, heed the warnings, even if it turns out to be a false alarm, lives are more important than property.  I will be thinking of everyone throughout the country as all states are affected

Judy

Little Guest Book

My sister and I combined our talents today to make a small Guest Book for our nephews 21st birthday.

The requested theme was vintage ...  I think we have achieved that?

We started with a Accordion style book

Sue covered both the front and back covers with vintage scrapbook paper.  Then using the big cropodile I punched the eyelet holes ... we used jumbo eyelets in this book, and they are a real challenge to install correctly.  Even though the eyelets themselves are jumbo, the throat section that goes through the cardboard is not.

 

From there it was easy, added a key embellishment and mounted the numbers onto card stock and corrugated card.

We kept the inside simple, so there would be plenty of room for the guests to write their greetings.  It is only going to be a small party with family and a few close friends therefore a bigger book was not required.  

After this photo was taken, we mounted my nephews name on the left hand side... forgot to take another photo

We used birthday rubons for the top of each page.

The next couple of photos are not great, however I wanted to show you the accordion style of the book.

 My nephews girlfriend was very happy with the result.  She was the one that requested the book, so we gave her a call to come and inspect and make any changes. 

The only change she requested was that we add the birthday quote rubons to the top of the pages on the backside.  Easy.

A lovely afternoon spent with my sister.  I left her printing verses for a 50th wedding anniversary for a card that has been commissioned.  I will try and see if I can get a photo before she delivers it.

On the weather front - yesterday at 5:00 pm it was officially 44.4 degrees and even at midnight it was still 37 degrees.

Not sure what the temperature is at the moment, but when I checked at 4:30 pm it was 43.7 degrees.  Way too hot!  Lot of bush fires have started in the area due to a large electrical storm last night.  

Unfortunately we are not predicted to have a change in the weather at all this week, and are on high alert for fires.

Take care

Judy

January Quota - Finished

Today I finished off another three Breast Cancer Drain Bags.  This completes the six that I commit to making each month.  It is a wonderful cause and a good way to use up some of my "excess" fabric!

All six bags, pressed and folded and ready to be picked up by our local coordinator, Belinda

Bags I completed today

Patchwork star, I like the freshness of this bag

 

Scrappy Bag 

 This one also has a scrappy lining - love the chickens

 

Reindeer bag

 

Change of plans for tomorrow - I have been asked if I can make a "Guest Book"  for my nephews 21st next weekend, so I will be combining my talents with my sister, who is much better at scrap-booking and card making than I am.  Plus she has all the necessary supplies.

I am going to source some products from my online store to assist - maybe use the journal book as a base?

I will try and remember to take my camera so that I can show you our results

My thought and prayers are with everyone in Tasmania, it is terrible the number of homes that have been destroyed and the fires are still not contained.

Take care and stay safe

Judy

Three Finished

After a day which was filled with a comedy of errors, I eventually completed the three Breast Cancer Drain Bags.  I used a left over piece of "Braid" quilt for these bags, and I should have enough to make another three.

Blogger is not letting me upload photos ...agh  (problem is with IE, installed Firefox and can upload photos - go figure.  Found this resolution from the Google Help Support page)

Bag 1

Bag 2

Bag 3

I decided this year that I would pop the little emery boards with cover in the bag as a gift rather than the tissue covers I was making last year.  Just for a change.  I had these ones already made

All the bags were made from this left over Braid quilt, and I believe I will have enough left to make another three bags from this piece.

As I said this was a day that was riddled with errors, and blogger has decided that they will continue the theme .... I know it is hot but..................come on, give me a break!

Time for bed, and I hope tomorrow is a better day although it is going to be another extremely hot one  - 44 degrees forecast

Judy

Temperatures Rising

With the temperatures to soar into the mid 40's for the next 5-7 days, I have organised my sewing.
I certainly will not be venturing far from the craft studio or the indoors.

All these projects have been cut out before Christmas, so no preparation work was required.

Start on this years, Breast Cancer Drain Bags.
One side already sewn

 

The other side, cut out ready to be sewn

 

Three more bags, cut out and pieced.

 

 

These three are ready be be assembled, everything is cut out.

 

Ten key ring card holders, for an order.  All cut to size, ready

 

 

AND then if there is still time, I had a  couple of Christmas Projects that I did not get a chance to make.  It is not too early to start for next Christmas is it?  Just kidding, but I would like to try these two patterns.

 

Folded Christmas Tree - this looks like a cute Christmas ornament

 

 

Sweet Treats Bag - this was a kit I purchased, before I stocked Marg Low patterns in my store

 

 

Everything in the kit, ready to go

 

 

 

These projects should keep me inside for a couple of days. 

I really do not like it when it gets so hot ...there are so many bushfires already burning in NSW and this extreme weather just adds to the danger of more starting

 

Take care and stay cool

 

Judy

String Balls

The last project I had with the children before they returned home was to make some string balls.
Easy, however VERY messy

We covered a balloon with glue soaked string ... messy, definitely an outside craft project

 

Hung them up in the tree until the glue had set hard.

 

Then the fun part, pop the balloon, to reveal lovely string ball hangers

 

 

The one in the front below, shows what happens if you do not put enough glue on the string.  It did not set hard to retain the shape.

 

 

 

Another trick we learnt was not to hang them in the sun (to speed up drying) - they pop and make a terrible mess

 

These can be made in any size, and you could thread through battery or solar lights to make a lovely feature.  They would need to be kept out of the weather though.

 

Will need to try again, using more string/twine and then maybe put another coat of glue on after you have removed the balloon for greater stability.

 

All good fun

Judy

Rustic Star

Just before Christmas I had time with my nieces and nephew in Tumut.  We were sitting out on the lawn and decided that we would each make a star for Christmas.

 

We found some really old timber pieces and tied them together with wire.  A fabulous rustic star.

This is the one I made, and I have since hung it on the side of my craft studio.  I love it.

 

Another quick star project resulted in these:

Scrappy stars

 

 

A star shape was formed by pressing a pipe cleaner around a star cookie cutter.  Join the ends, and then wrap with fabric.  These look great tied onto the Christmas tree or as tags on your gifts.

 

Judy