stashbusting

our girl turned 5 a few days ago. we had a little party beside a little lake and we made some little gifts for her friends. these were totally inspired by said birthday girl. i watched her wading through our stash of fabric pieces, felt pieces, wool pieces. i watched her as she chose and cut pieces of fabric in big triangles, adorned them with smaller pieces of other carefully selected fabric, cut edges off the felt pieces, then  pinned them all together and asked me to sew them into party hats. alas they were not quite big enough for party hats, but flipped to one side and attached to a stick, they became beautiful party flags.

stashbusting party flags. 

eco friendly, stashbusting party flags.

one of a kind, eco-friendly, stashbusting party flags.

the perfect gift for a little party by a little lake.

her guests loved them. and you will too. when you make one or two or many...

here's a tutorial for you.

1. peruse your stash

2. choose some fabrics. we used jersey for the flag and wool felt pieces to pretty them up

3. adorn with aforementioned prettiness. only sew them onto one piece of your flag

4. then sew the flag pieces, wrong sides together with a zig zag stitch

5. go outside and choose a stick. a strong but thin but straight stick. you'll know when you've found the right one. wrap your stick in wool. use one color or many. stick the end of the wool down with a hot glue gun

6. cut 4 holes in the side of the flag for your stick. three holes through both flags then the top hole only through the back flag. weave through your stick, starting at the bottom, go in the front first, through the back of the second, the front of the third hole then poke the end in the hole in the top of the back flag

7. go forth and wave (and make many)

let me know if you make one!

treasured gifting, or what to do with all those tumbled crystals

some treasured friends celebrated their birthdays recently. my girl and i made a pot of chai, a playlist (it's still all about Lanie Lane at the moment) laid some treasures in front of us and we got our craft on.

some wool felt, a bottle of glue and hundreds upon hundreds of tiny tumbled crystals that my girl has been collecting throughout the year (hidden in various sandpits, along ocean shores and other places of interest throughout her habitat). cut to size, name squeezed out in glue then she carefully chose each treasured crystal to fill up the letters. so simple. she loved it. i loved it.

we made a little treasure pouch as well, filled it full of more hand selected crystals from her collection, wrapped them in her drawings with cards made from his paintings and sent them on their way, to the treasured recipients.

by all accounts, they were received with love and are, indeed, treasured.

it's summer after all....

alice adorable

when i awoke this morning to this

i knew it was going to be a good day. more than one sunflower per stem? while i'm sure it happens, it's never happened in my garden and i am feeling very blessed for it. let's take a closer look to soak that sunshine-y sunflower-iness in, yes?

i came inside, did the morning do, then when all was quiet, I made these new headbands. i had my small girl in my mind when I made them and when she got home from school she told me they were adorable. as is she.

to market

i'm off to market on friday to sell some wares. some treasure bags, some velvet headbands and some other random pieces still being made. i'm enjoying the process of making the same piece in different colors with different trinkets. it's making my studio all rainbow-like, which is an extra lovely bonus.

the few hours of making i had today were well and truly helped along by the 'shuffle' button on my ipod. there was dylan, there was ron sexsmith, there was rufus wainwright, there was those acapelicans, there was bjork, but the stand out was definitely clare bowditch and lanie lane. i sang as loud as a girl at home alone in the country can sing. i implore you to do the same.

 

first....

...of the season

on dads

Me and my dad have a thing going on. I understand him and he gets me. That special father daughter thing that people write books about? We have it. I treasure it.

He is a journeyman, my dad. He heads off places, experiences them fully, writes about them, then returns and shares them with us. Sometimes mum goes with him. Sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes he flies for 30 hours away and sometimes he drives 90 minutes away. Regardless, he is as inspired and eloquent about the sunrise and birdsong in rural Victoria as he is about the ancient back alleys of Italy.

He's about to head off again. A short, tropical journey this time. I made him a bag to put his shoes. A small stretch of time, 2 pieces of calico, a little thread, and some ribbon and he has a utilitarian gift (which he loves) I finished it off with a stamp of the Buddha's feet on the front corner.

And these feet
They will take your weight, my love
These feet will drive your dream engine
Feet, baby, this is where the road begins
Roadmaker, Red Raku

My small girl and her dad have a thing going on, too. Theirs is a love so powerful and fertile that I can see them growing within it. Strong and bouyant. She, the vine and he, the sturdy wooden fence. She, green and fresh, unfurling and fruiting as years pass. He, as strength and stability, with pockets to rest in when dormant and to unravel from with the sun's warmth. She makes him gifts, regularly. But this gift? This was a little bit special, this one. This was a breathtaking beauty, this one. I heard his big heart give a little 'boom' when he opened it.

 I love the dads in my life.