More Crafty Capers

I'm still working out how this blogging stuff works...I had no idea these pictures had been posted on my blog!  I was only messing around and I'm a bit embarassed to find them here in all their rather large glory!  Since discovering Polyvore a few weeks ago I must confess to having spent a little bit too much time on there.  I've set myself the challenge of having a 'capsule wardrobe' for winter, and have been using Polyvore to help me create it.  I will let you know how I get on...

ANYWAY...

I'm doing really well with my goal number 4: handmaking everyone's gifts this year.  It might not sound much but for me to have got to March and not caved in and just gone to the mall by now is quite an achievement!

One of my close friends had a beautiful baby girl at the end of January, and I found this quilt tutorial which, to my slightly naive eyes looked pretty easy.  Well at first it was and I was really pleased with my patchwork (even though it didn't quite all match up but I am a novice you know!)  The problems began when I was doing the quilting...could I stop the material bunching up?  Erm no.  But after unpicking and retrying I had to realise it wasn't going to get any better and decided the result was "handmade quality".  Anyway beautiful Carys looks pretty happy with it...

Any tips would be gratefully received!

I've also tried my hand at "upcycling" a couple of dresses I bought in a charity shop into a really cool gift for my sister (my lovely cousin Naomi at Upcycled Creatively will be pleased!)  I can't show you yet as her birthday's not till this weekend...shh!

My next project is to make a Mother's Day gift for my mum and a birthday present for my dad - gosh men are SO hard to make things for!

In the meantime I've been reading the manual to our camera (ahem, that we've had for 5 years) to try and work out how to use all the buttons and knobs properly.  Here are a few snaps...what do you think?

Cheesy I know!  But the achievement here is getting Wayne's face that clear even though he was in shadow.

I just like the light and colour in this one.

A little bit of orange

A little bit of orange by scallywag574 featuring carved jewelry

STEFFEN SCHRAUT polka dot top
$270 - stylebop.com

Goldsign zipper jeans
£194 - farfetch.com

Superga heel boots
€85 - zenggi.com

Leather bag
$170 - modcloth.com

Tiffany Co carved jewelry
$875 - tiffany.com

Sequin dot jewelry
$25 - nordstrom.com

Etro printed scarve
$190 - stylebop.com

A little bit of sunshine in the Fall

A little bit of sunshine in the Fall by scallywag574 featuring a cotton a line skirt

STEFFEN SCHRAUT fitted cardigan
$270 - stylebop.com

See by Chloe cotton a line skirt
€309 - jades24.com

Jeffrey Campbell pointy toe pumps
$135 - nordstrom.com

Chloé royal blue handbag
£1,075 - matchesfashion.com

Sequin polka dot jewelry
$25 - nordstrom.com

Betsey johnson jewelry
$30 - macys.com

Etro scarve
$190 - stylebop.com

The List

So I'm averaging one post every 2 months so far!  This is what comes of having only one laptop in the house and a computer specialist (I looked up 'geek' in the thesaurus for a better word!) for a husband.  I now have a laptop I can use a lot more often so there are no more excuses!!

Gosh where to start?  This was initially meant to be a blog about all things crafty but there are so many thoughts buzzing around in my head I've decided to let it be free to evolve into whatever it wants to become :o)

I never used to make New Year resolutions, as like many people I never end up sticking to them.  For some reason though I decided that 2012 was going to be different and at first it was great...  However since about mid-January things have started to slip - surprise!  But I'm cutting myself a break; it may not be 1 January, but there's no reason I can't begin again.  This blog will be my channel for motivation, inspiration and - a big one! - ACCOUNTABILITY!

I'm in a really privileged position where my only responsibilities really are looking after my husband and dog, and keeping the house clean and tidy, and of course looking after myself.  Not surprisingly I've found some days a little aimless and unstructured, and there's nothing worse for motivation, or inspiration for that matter. It's time for more responsibility!

So here's the list:

I've taken a lot of inspiration from one of my favourite blogs Nektar.  It's a really intimate insight into one person's life journey through beautiful words and images and I hope that my journey will be as rewarding and fulfilling.  It was Stephanie at Nektar who inspired me to get off my bum and do one thing towards enriching mine and my family's life with GOOD things.  And something inside me shouted "hey I've got creativity bursting to get out too, maybe this is the way!"  So here's the blog, may the journey begin :o)

Beginnings

Well it's about time I made a new post!  The house move is done, and I'm loving our quirky new home by the sea!  The job quitting is done; I'm lucky enough to be in the position where my lovely hubby is happy to do the bread winning while I try my hand at being a domestic goddess and crafting queen - dizzy heights indeed!  So, armed with my gorgeous spotty new chair...

From my favourite shop Freedom

...and my shiny new sewing machine and awesome leather-topped antique sewing table that I got for (almost) a steal on Trade Me...

...I'm finally able to begin sewing for the first time in about 15 years.

My first project was to make a quick pin cushion using this tutorial from one of my favourite blogs Mousehouse.  Here's how mine turned out

With my confidence flying high I decided it would be a good idea to launch myself into making 7 Christmas ornaments for the Kiwi Christmas Ornament Swap hosted by Dione at Sew Funky.  After much Googling and mind-changing I finally settled on making a robin using some Christmas material I'd got from Spotlight and this cute template I found.

Needless to say my inexperience amidst moving house, making the difficult decision to quit my job and the imminent arrival of the parents-in-law (!) proved challenging to say the least.  However it was a valuable learning process and by the time I got to the last ornament I'd finally managed to work out the best way of making each component and the least fiddly way of putting them together!

I decided to ditch the feather tail in the end

Waiting for the final robin before they fly the coop to their new homes

I felt like a child whenever I received any of the other swaps in the post!  They're all beautiful and each one is unique.  I'll post a pic of my tree with them on next time!

Newbie!

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging!  I'm in the process of moving house and it's all very exciting.  I will be back here very soon :o)