Never Was a Pirate's Mam More Proud, Arrrgh!

My Bug was invited to a fancy dress party. I asked what he wanted to dress up as, and what he would wear. After a few ideas (lion, tiger), he settled on a pirate. I asked what he would wear, and he said a big black hat, which we would make out of black cardboard. This sounded enterprising, so I got some cardboard and awaited instructions. This is what we came up with.

The hat was devised by the Bug, cut out by me,  and stapled by both of us. He drew a picture of a pirate for the front, and he cut it out and glued it on.

Together we created: an eye patch made of cardboard, shirring elastic and sticky-tape; a sword made from a cardboard tube wrapped in foil; and a telescope, also devised by the Bug, and made from rolled cardboard.

 And the final flourish- a treasure map with an ' x' to mark the spot.

You can imagine how proud I was to see him set off in a costume of his own design and creation!

My Creative Space: Hand-Carved Stamp!

I love printing, especially printing my own designs, and some methods are more accessible than others. This week I made a hand-carved stamp using a plastic eraser, following Chantal Vincent's excellent, easy-to-follow tutorial.

I've carved stamps with a craft knife before, but this time I used a Speedball carving tool. With the Speedball I was able to get a lot of fine details in my flower. It's an Australian native Banksia spinulosa seed pod, or "Banksia man". I'll use it to make a card for my mother-in-law, who's a Banksia nut (or should that be a gumnut?).

Thanks for a great tutorial, Chantal! For more creative spaces, visit host Kirsty here.

Sell Me Your Scissors!

I'm in need of a new pair of dressmaking scissors. My $4 pair from the supermarket just don't cut the mustard. Do you have a pair you love and would recommend?

I like the vintage styling of the all-metal Mundial scissors with their glossy red handles...

...but would a lightweight pair of Fiskars with ergonomic handles or comfort grip be easier to use? And can you sharpen the ones with serrated edges, or do you not need to?

If you think your scissors make the cut, I'd love to hear about them!

Christmas Destash!

I'm making some space in the ivory tower by putting some fabric from my stash in my Etsy shop. I'm starting with this Christmas collection from Riley Blake, "Colorful Chrismas" by My Mind's Eye. These are five co-ordinating fat quarters in modern Christmas colours. The prints feature trees, snowflakes, hot chocolate with marshmallows and more. See here for the listing.

Stockings, placemats, coasters, bunting...have you started your Christmas crafting yet?

Giveaway winner!

I'm about to draw the winner for my patchwork cushion. Drum roll please...

After a few false starts with random.org, caused by me putting the wrong number of entries in, the winner is number 3! That's Cate, who said:

Congratulations!! Oooh, I think I must have been #99 :-)

I am loving felt creations at the moment. But I also like sewing handy little things for around the house, and am trying to learn to use my camera properly :-) xxx 

You can head over to Cate's blog Keep Cate Busy to see her creative endeavors, and follow her quest for a life of inspiration with her 365 days of productivity, joy, meaning and pride. I'm particularly inspired by Cate's daily Charity Give-Away list...but is it counter-productive if I take my stuff in to the op-shop and find some new things to bring home while I'm there? ;)


Congratulations Cate, "Good thinking, 99", and thanks to everyone for entering! I've particularly enjoyed hearing what sorts of arts and crafts everyone is enjoying at the moment. I'll be in touch to get your postal address Cate!

My Creative Space: The Countdown to the Countdown

Here's a sneak peek of my current project- can you guess what it is?

The felt for the birds was a lovely gift from Lynne, and the Bug and I chose the buttons at our favorite fabric shop, Darn Cheap Fabrics. I've run out of the red floss and trying hard to match the colour so I can get it finished in time.

I had a brief interlude while I embroidered the name of Mister Bell's new niece on the quilt I have made for her. Phew, that's done, now we can visit her!


For more creative spaces visit host Kirsty here! 

A Present A Week {Till Christmas}:Tall Toy Story

The Bug has been invited to a fancy dress party. At first he was going to be a lion. Then a tiger. How about a giraffe, Sweet Pea? I've got just the fabric for your costume! No, I'm going to be a pirate.

We're on the eve of the era of Transformers and Spiderman, but for now my Bug still loves animals, and I'm relishing the moment. Here's another one for his Christmas stocking, finished at last. It took me a while to work out the mane, but now it's got a mullet to make any mother proud. The fabric came from Susan, originally via Ange's swap, and the pattern is from Karin Neuschutz's Sew Soft Toys, from Winterwood.

You can join in anytime with Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas}. There's a fabric giveaway from Deb every week! Thanks for the inspiration, Deb, and keep up the great work, Christmas crafters!

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway! 

100+ Followers Giveaway!

Last week Kristie dropped by my Bloggers Quilt Festival entry to say "Happy birthday" to my Gran and to tell me that she's my 100th blog follower! This milestone caught me by surprise, which is strange because I always keep my eye on the followers list, and hop off to visit the blogs of any new arrivals.

Anyway, as I said to Kristie, I think this means a giveaway! I'm going to give away my "Chop and Change" cushion cover, which I made using vintage sheets from Ange's Australian Vintage Sheet Fat Quarter Swap. The giveaway is just for the cover (you can put in your own cushion insert), so I'll post worldwide.

To enter, simply leave me a comment telling me what your favorite creative or artistic hobby is. Remember to leave an email address if you don't have a blogger account with an email address linked up. I'll draw the winner at random next Wednesday November 17th at 8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (that may be on Tuesday in your part of the world!).

A Present A Week {till Christmas}: Ready to Set Sail

Here again are our young lovers, having a practise-run in the bird-bath before setting sail in the good ship Sweet Pea. It's week 18 of Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas} at Works in Progress.

This cute couple are intended for a little boy who turns one just before Christmas, so instead of the button eyes I used for the owl bowling set, this owl and pussycat have eyes of felt and embroidery. I've got a great supply of felt for softies thanks to Lynne, who gave me a huge bag of her remnants. Thanks Lynne!


You can join in anytime with Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas}! There's a fabric giveaway from Deb every week, and I was a lucky winner again- Deb sent me a luscious piece of cherry- and chocolate-coloured fabric- thanks again Deb!

My Creative Space: Match Making

This perfect pair are waiting for some finishing touches before sailing away for a year and a day. Guess who?

They're going to be a Christmas present for a little sailor friend and his mummy who likes to sing songs.

For more creative spaces visit host Kirsty here! 

Brighton by Name, Brighten by Nature!

After two days on flooding rain in Melbourne, a ray of sunshine came through my letterbox this morning!

I love Brighton Breezy's gorgous hexy pincushions on her blog Pins and Needles. I asked Sarah if she'd like to do a mini-swap. And here it is, my very own red and blue pincushion with a birdy on each side- isn't it sweet!

And I'm very spoilt because Sarah also included some Brighton Rock from the wonderfully-named sweetshop Suck it and Sea, and, because I love all thing apple-themed, some apple, chilli and sage jelly. I managed to resist taking the lid off before I took the photo! Check out the fabric on top-  that'll be making it's way into a quilt soon!

As I was reading my lovely "Greetings From Brighton" postcard, I was thinking how craft blogs are such a fun, friendly place, and how much I like making new friends. Thanks Sarah, I'm chuffed to bits! The pincushion is going in my on-the-go sewing kit, and the rest is going in my tum.