Small Finishes

Just a couple of small finishes to show you this week.

Little felt gingerbread christmas ornaments finished -  these were the two I had to finish off last week

 

All three - they are so sweet

Panda card holder keyring and wallet - completed

 

Soft warm polar fleece hat made for my sister

 

And a sneak peek of what I have also started -

Christmas & Breast Cancer gifts

 

Now all I need is time to complete them .. I did not forget to show you the owl that I started a couple of weeks ago, I have just changed my plans for it, so hope to have that finished soon as well.  Just need to find a little more time for sewing.

Until then

Judy

A Little Start

I have spent most of the weekend in the craft studio, but unfortunately not much time "crafting".  With the clearance sale and stock-take for my online store it was taking up most of my time, until this afternoon.

I downed tools and decided to make a little felt gingerbread girl for my first 2014 Christmas decoration.
I had seen a photo of something similar on Pinterest however no link to site or pattern, but that doesn't mean I cannot design my own version.

She turned out lovely, so I have another two cutout and ready to finish.

The one on the left just needs to be sewn together, and the one on the right, has just been started.

I could get these three little gingerbread girls from just two felt squares, "light brown" available in store.  I also used Tilda CandyCane brads for the sweet cheeks on two of the gingers and on the last one, I used Darice 10mm peppermints.  I think it gives them a unique look?

Have you started anything for Christmas yet?, it is July next week and before you know it, Christmas will be here.

I really should finish off the owl and little card holder keyring that was cut out last week, I may do that right now!

Judy

Children's Weekend Craft

Another fun craft weekend with my family.  We made this little wallet and card holder keyring for her favourite Aunty Janet (I am relegated to 2nd favourite, he he) as well as a pin cushion for her own use.

Next she made this stuffed owl to sit in her bookcase .. I loved the colours she chose, she has a great eye for colour combinations.  Unfortunately it was a little smaller than she wanted, however I still think it is extremely cute.

Boy stuff next.  He had already made a list of things he wanted to make - slingshot, catapult.  He certainly takes me out of my comfort zone, but the internet is such a help to get ideas.

His dad had already helped preparing the twig required for the slingshot, so he just needed to put it together.  Elastic for the sling, with a little leather pouch to hold the missile.

Next the catapult - popsicle sticks, tape, bottlecap and rubber bands was all that was needed

As we still had a little time left, we used some coloured popsicle sticks to make some lizards.

Lastly, a quick and easy bookmark - he just glued a felt bird to the top of a popsicle stick.  It looked great and he is going to use it in his craft book ... where he puts photos of all his projects that he has made with me.  How sweet.

This is all I achieved over the weekend.  I cut out an owl and card holder keyring to sew... and that is as far as I got.  Maybe next weekend?

At least some craft was achieved in my studio, it has been quite a long dry spell

Judy

Thomas's Yabby

Last weekend, I had my nieces and nephew for a quick craft lesson, however I neglected to take photos.

My brother sent a photo of the yabby that Thomas made while he was with me - he had been fishing in the morning and wanted to make a yabby as he had caught some fresh ones.

We were both quite pleased with how it turned out.

I have been trying to update my blog for a few days, and have been having heaps of problems.  Firstly it took forever to load, and then would not allow me to upload photos, agh ... my default browser is Internet Explorer, however I also tried Firefox, but with the same results.  This morning, I "bit the bullet" and installed Google Chrome and it immediately uploaded the photo for me, Go Figure!

I will have another post later in the day, when I show the great things that the children made this weekend. That is assuming that Blogger will behave.

Till then

Judy

Where have I been?

Unfortunately the answer to that question, is no-where!  Life has just got in the way of any craft at the moment.  I am having a huge reduction of stock in my online store, so just trying to mark everything down is taking more time than I thought.

The only craft I have been playing with is the loom bands with my nieces and nephews

Here is a photo of the loom bracelets I have made:

A couple to trial for pink ribbon gifts

Another showing how to use a scrapbook tag

Such good fun

Judy

Easter, Anzac Day, Craft and Clearance Sale

The title says it all, a lot has been happening the last few weeks.

This Easter we celebrated the Leeton Sunrice Festival in my town - it occurs every two years and brings a lot of  festivities and fun to the town which enforces the recognition of the contribution the rice industry has to the region.

I love the street parade - and this year they had over 80 entries

A lot of vintage machinery and cars

Last Friday April 25th was Anzac Day, when we remember all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.

'ANZAC' stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

My friend Ray painted this Poppies painting, the red poppy is a symbol of war remembrance.

My new fun craft has been experimenting with the loom bands.  My niece and nephew gave me a craft lesson, rather than the other way around before Easter, and I am hooked.  What fun!

The following photos are examples of the loom items that the kids have made during the school holidays.

Lastly, I have been busy with my online store, organising a huge clearance sale.  Over the years, the online store has diversified into carrying a lot of products.  I have decided to go back to the original concept, and just stock buttons, bells and rusty products.  So, everything else is being marked down to sell.  If you are after a bargain, check out the online store (Cat 'n Cart Crafts) as I am trying to keep prices under $5.00, so there are a lot of bargains.

Until next time

Judy

Time Gets Away

Time has really got away from me the last couple of weeks, busy at both work and home!  New wireless Internet ADSL modem installed without any difficulty so everything is back to normal on that front.

Only 1 week until the first Red Carpet Market Day for 2014 at the Leeton Visitors Centre.  See flyer below.  Come and say HI if you are in the area!

 

I have made a lot of little fun gifts for Easter, as well as small hand made sewn gifts.  Everything is organised, for a change, I only need to iron the tablecloths and I will be ready. 

 

Goodies all packed up ready to take

 

 

I even had time to make these little Easter baskets and fill them with Easter Eggs.  Instructions are here, just in case you want to make some for Easter gifts.

 

 

Take care

Judy

Curses ....

I was on the Internet replying to a email when we had a huge electrical storm ... and guess what, we lost power AND it fried my Internet modem.  I am currently using my small wireless USB Internet stick to update the blog.  Very slow.

As I live in a small country town, it is not possible to purchase a replacement ADSL modem easily, so it will probably mean a trip to the nearest city.  Griffith is only 69 kilometres away, but it is a nuisance when it is not planned, let alone the expense of replacing the modem!

I am very lucky my computer is still working, and my backup drive, which was connected when we had the power outage, is still working.  So it is not all bad news, although my week has been one of "hiccups", a welcome back to normality, I think!

I do have some more finished items to post, but I will leave that until I get my Internet sorted out.

Hope you had a better week than me...

Judy

Bunny Kisses and Tails

Yes, that is what I am working on today, really cute!

Hershey kisses:

Packaged up with a topper, they become Bunny Kisses

Using mini marshmallows, the next pack is Bunny Tails

These printables are quick and easy to make up, but I am unsure of how many I should make for the market stall.  I can always use the leftovers as gifts for my family and friends for Easter.

(Please keep it secret, Olivia)

Judy

Easter Goodies

I have started making some inroads into the mess on my desk, that I showed you in my last post.  These will be all little gifts to have on my Red Market Day stall just before Easter

First up seed packets, a lovely gift to pop in a card:

From this:

 

To this, the packet of seeds enclosed in a cute envelope:

 

 

Ordinary looking Kleenex pocket size tissues

 

 

Looking much cuter, with a "Bee Happy: wrapper

 

 

Still lots to do, and would you believe that I have not yet sampled any of the chocolate (?)

 

Judy

Back Home

After a wonderful two weeks on holiday I am back home.  It is great to be back, but I miss having meals prepared, linen changed, washing done etc.  As you all know, it is hard to get back into routine!

Here are a couple of last photos from the island, these were the ones from the lookout that I was having trouble trying to load from my iPad.

From the first lookout:

 

Second lookout:

 

 

Looking down into the crystal clear water

 

 

Our last glance at Castaway Island, Fiji

 

 

If you want a really relaxing holiday away from all the hustle and bustle, I would totally recommend this resort.

 

Now back to reality, this is what I will be working on for the next couple of days.  It may look a mess at the moment, but they will end up being little gifts for Easter.

 

 

 

Judy

Feeling Fragile

The rich and different food caught up with me yesterday, feeling terribly frail with an upset stomach.  Not pleasant!

The day before I managed a bush walk to the top of the island to two lookouts.  The walk was rated as "medium" but with my fitness level it was "very hard" but well worth it for the views

I cannot seem to be able to upload the lookout photos, but here are a couple of  the island as we depart today for the mainland.  We travel on this small boat out to the sea vessel.

Once we were on the sea vessel, this photo is looking back towards the island.

We now have three days on the mainland before we return home.  The island did not have any TV or radio services, so we are catching up on some national news.

Tomorrow we are booked into the Mandala Spa for a massage, bliss!

Hopefully I will be able to sort out the photo upload problem by then.

Judy

Another day

Yesterday was cultural day on the island.  They lit a fire for the Lovo which is cooking the food in a pit in the ground.

The food was cooked for approximately 5 hours.  We then enjoyed a banquet of traditional food, which followed a mellee/entertainment session.

It was hard to get a good photo as they were moving very fast.

Finally another beautiful sunset photo.  It is going to be hard to leave the island on Saturday.

Judy

Being Lazy

Gosh, it is so easy to be lazy while on holidays. Lazing on the beach or by the pool, eating lovely meals.

This is the Sushi lunch I had yesterday, absolutely delicious.

This morning while having a "late" breakfast I noticed other guests being more energetic, parasailing over the water

I hope these photos are coming out ok as I am only using my iPad to take the photos and then upload

Enjoy your day

Judy

Sunset over the water

This was the lovely sunset last night from our beach.

Can you see why this is called "Monkey Rock"?

Having a wonderful, restful holiday

Judy

Breakfast by the sea

Beautiful - another start to a lazy day in Paradise

Judy

Hard life

It's a hard life, lucky I am getting to live it

Judy