Rowdy

OK, when you saw the heading did you think I was being "rowdy"?

No,  this is the name of the latest reindeers I have made from a pattern by  Old Road Primitives

The painted faces make them look so cute!  The instructions on how to paint the faces was very easy to follow.

Would you believe that these two reindeer have been stuffed and just waiting to have the faces painted for over 12 months, shame!

Oh well, at least they are finished now, and ready for the "Red Carpet Market Day" which is only 4 weeks away.

Until next time, from your non-rowdy blogger

Judy

Felt Santa and Reindeer

This is the second Lizzie and Co pattern I  have completed this week.  They are so quick and easy, I think that has become my motto for my projects lately. I love getting fast results.

 

Again, made entirely from felt.  I even used felt buttons for his coat front, star on hat, and star on bottom of hat.  I used a "mid brown" felt for the reindeer this time, darker than the previous one and also added a little bit of fake fur between the ears.

Closeup of both the Santa & Reindeer

 

 

The sun is shining today, so I will be out in the garden, it is a pleasant change after all the cold weather.  What are you doing today?

 

Felt, felt buttons, chenille sticks, tiny black buttons (for eyes), rusty bells, and Santa's beard are all available from my online store

Judy

Quirky Reindeer

I LOVE this pattern from Lizzie and Co. - made entirely from felt, it is fun and quirky

You can fill the boot full with nuts or chocolates, it would look fantastic on your Christmas table.

Only 4 pieces of felt are required, 2 for reindeers and 2 for boot, 2 chenille sticks for the antlers, so very economical to make.

Here is a closeup of the bigger reindeer on the left hand side.

Don't you love the look on his face? 

I love Christmas crafting and I have another Lizzie & Company pattern already cut out, this time a reindeer and Santa, again made in felt.

Till then

Judy

Hanging Soldier Ornaments

After stripping some fabric together, these soldier ornaments were quickly completed.

 

Something different to hang on the tree this year

 

The idea for these little soldier ornaments were found on the Creativ Company website.

Agh, I wonder what next?

Judy

Christmas Elf

The Christmas Elf has been finished.  He has his hands full with lots of items that need to be painted?

 

I love the bright colours of his hat and pants, which is offset with the more muted green shade of his shirt.

 

The pattern is available for purchase from my online store - Cat 'n Cart Crafts - see here

I think I will make some small hanging christmas ornaments next

Have a good weekend, and fingers crossed we get the rain that is forecast, we really need it

Judy

What A Week

What a week!  It started with all good intentions until I came down with a head cold.  I had a sore throat on Sunday and by the time Monday evening came around, I was feeling terrible.  I spent the next 4 days in bed, yes it was that bad!  I detest late winters colds, everyone around me seems to have it, and I thought I was going to get through winter without one, no such luck.  I am still a little congested, mainly when the cold evening air comes in, but definitely on the mend. 

Yesterday, Saturday I actually stayed up for the entire day, I sat in front of the TV and stuffed my "old St Nick" Santa from my last post.

I finished him off today, and although he doesn't look like the pattern cover photo, I was happy with the end result

 

 

Another Christmas project crossed off the list.  This is my next one - from my own  Cat 'n Cart Crafts designs, Xmas Elf.  A quick and easy project -  as there are no arms and legs in this pattern, you actually just stuff the shirt and trousers, sneaky!

 

Also - CONGRATULATIONS to Kate & Matt (my niece and her husband) who announced that they are expecting their first child.  Fantastic news.

Hope you had a great weekend and I certainly hope this cold will disappear completely this week, and I will be back to my normal self

Judy

Christmas Reindeers Finished

The two reindeer that I had cut out yesterday have been completed, whoopee
Once they are stuffed they are very quick and easy to complete.  I have used upholstery fabric for the body and it has great texture and holds the form extremely well

The first is the cutest, in my opinion, light brown with Santa's bag on the side filled with goodies

 

The next one is in a darker upholstery fabric, and gives him an entirely different look.  I have made a felt stocking for this one.

Both so cute, here they are side by side so you can compare.

 

This reindeer pattern can be purchased from my online store, here

Now to get the washing on before I cut out another Christmas pattern

This one is next on my agenda - Olde St Nick from Country Friends.  The following photo is from the cover of the pattern, hope mine turns out as good?

 

Have you been crafty this weekend?

Judy

Cold Winter Weekend

This weekend promises to be the coldest we have had so far this year, what a good excuse to stay indoors and sew, fingers crossed that is what happens.

I did manage to get one little finish this week.  These Christmas Cutlery holders have been waiting to have the bindings sewn on for over two weeks.

 

I loved how they turned out, and would love to make more.

 

From my own Cat 'n Cart Crafts designs, I  am ready to make two reindeers for the next Red Carpet Market Day to be held at the end of September.

 

They are all cut out and ready to be stuffed, this is my goal set for today

Hope you have a great day

Judy

Owl Hats

A little sewing this weekend , I made some progress on my Breast Cancer and Christmas gifts, but not enough to show you more yet.

However, I did make another couple of polar fleece hats - this owl fabric was so soft and cuddly

Two hats can easily be made out of 1/2 metre fabric, great for our colder weather

Judy

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