Ahh Memories

On a bleak winter day ( last day of winter woohoo) there is nothing nicer than looking at photos and remembering the warmth of  Summer in France and Spain. ( and my love of doorways)

@my house

My house today finds us celebrating the end of winter (YAY). I know there are still 2 days to go till spring and that the forecast for the first few days of spring is yuck to say the least BUT today was perfect! The sun was shining, it was almost warm, the violets are going beserk in my paving and the blossom has appeared on the trees. Oh how I love the first signs of new life after a bleak winter.

My broadbeans have also loved the weather lately and are growing like mad so hopefully there will be a nice little crop soon.

Grow my little beauties, Grow!

My sunshine spoons and cookbook clips are walking out the door and while taking these photos I kept finding spent sparkler sticks from Sarah's slumber party the other night.

 

 Sparkler writing at the slumber party (and the source of all today's sticks)

What's happening at your house? Got you interested? Check it out at Buttons by LouLou

My Creative Space

My creative space this week has not been very crafty - apart from painting my nails hot pink and buying up all the spoons I could find at the Camberwell market on Sunday. (Oh and Mia's attempt at lip gloss, watched and most probably encouraged, I might add, by her big sister who did nothing to stop it -  just took photos on my phone.)
Instead of crafting, I have had a crash course on Kosher cooking.
We are having guests to dinner tonight that only eat  kosher food. I will not be able to do everything totally kosher as I have only 1 of all the main appliances in my house but  I think I am playing it as safe as I can by going  vegitarian so no meat and dairy can bump into each other. It is a perfect excuse to buy a new chopping board and new knife but I will not however buy a new wok for the night or new cutlery. We will just have to pretend that these have never touched both meat and dairy when cooked.(Hopefully they are not too strictly kosher and can bend the rules a little) I did consider serving a cold meal as this makes kosher much easier as meat and dairy can actually meet on the one plate but as winter is still letting us know that it is not over yet, a hot meal is an absolute necessity.
With kosher dips and bikkies and a kosher dessert I hope my 'almost kosher' main course is ok. Just in case though I have bought a pre-made totally kosher meal - designed for kosher people to eat easily in non kosher households, as long as they witness the opening of the packet and it stays in its own container and doesn't touch one of my meat 'dirty' plates.

This is what my attempt at dinner will hopefully look like ....

Yellow Curry of pumpkin with green beans and cashew nuts

I must admit that even though I  enjoy a new cooking challenge and the people at Alex's Kosher and Continental Mart in Caulfield have been very helpful and very patient with my many questions, kosher is not something that can easily be worked into a non-kosher household.
Hopefully next week I will be a little more crafty (although it is the start of a very hectic few weeks with birthdays) and I should have my new line of products ready to hit my madeit shop and  preview here.

Till then see what other crafty people have been up to at Kirsty's

Wordless Wednesday

Find some  more great blogs playing along with Wordless Wednesday here

@my house

Today at my house finds me cuddlling a very miserable Mia who is full of cold and snuffles and doesn't want to move - just sit on mummy's lap. This is a bit of a shame really as the house could do with a decent clean after the whirlwind weekend that happened around here. Between Brett getting back from camp and all that entails, Sarah's basketball, watching Collingwood just beat the Adelaide Crows (YAY) and then and early Sunday morning start to try and get the bike rack attached to my car before heading off to the Camberwell market with my sister ( a bountiful day was had with many treasure bargains coming home with us), then to head home for a quick bite before finding out that Sarah's bike does not fit a standard bike rack (blast the new fangled shock absorbers) so has to be squeezed into the back of my hatchback as well as the car seat for Mia - a very tight fit I can tell you. It was then off to Casey Fields to stand in the cold and the wind ( despite the sun) to watch Sarah at her first training session for HPV - not the papiloma virus, it is actually 'Human Powered Vehicle' and is a endurance race for teams of eight  who ride a highly modified recumbant trike. I am not very good at describing it so here is a link if anyone is interested.  RACV Human Powered Vehicle Challenge.

 Sarah being strapped in to the trike

The trikes in action in last years competition

I am now watching Secret Millionaire which is actually in Frankston this week and I am rather disappointed that it is only made to look like the worst place on earth where everyone is hooked on drugs, and generally living in below par conditions. I know there are a great number of people like this down here but there are also a lot of people who are making a success of their lives, regardldess of their income, and I wish the millionaire had looked a bit harder and found more of the good organisations that help people and how they have helped to turn lives around.
Climbing down off my soapbox, I am off to tackle the mountain of washing that needs to be sorted, ironed and folded. I wish there was a little fairy for this - I hate ironing.
Now you have a glimpse of life in my house, I will see you at Lou's.

My Creative Space

Todays creative space finds me making costumes for my nephew's book parade at school next Tuesday.
He wants to go as 'Will Solvit' who, until yesterday, I didn't know existed let alone know what he looked like but how can you say no when these big eyes look at you and ask 'Can you make my costume for me, Aunty Mel?'
On doing a bit of research it is actually a very easy one to make - much easier than the lion costume for the Wizard of Oz - and should  be able to be made tonight. Little bit of modification to a couple of t-shirts and some cargo shorts should do the trick and then his little time travelling morph.
I do so like the easy ones!

Will Solvit in all his glory

Hope your week has been creatively simple and check out some other clever folks at Kootoyoo.

Wordless Wednesday

Check out other Wordless Wednesday's here

Envelope Envy

Since my spoons have proved to be very well received (and hopefully the new line of forks will be to) I needed to find a way of packaging them that was not just being wrapped in tissue paper before being placed in the padded bag for mailing.
I had been searching the web,  actual shops, my brain ,and that of friends, to try and come up with the perfect solution. I wanted a small flat type of bag  that could be customised if I wanted to.I had just about given up when I stumbled across this post on the madeit blog.

Envelope Paper Bag Tutorial

Suffice to say I have found my answer. I have so many odd envelopes laying around my house that are about to fine a new purpose in life - not only for the spoons but also for all sorts of small presents or gift bags.

@my house

My house today marks the return of 'BIG' from my big and little banner. ie Harry the Saint Bernard. - much to the delight of my 'Little'.

Harry spends 51 out of 52 weeks living with Dave but this week Dave is one of the 9 instructors along with Brett (hubby) on a school flying camp. They were all due to fly out by 8am this morning, but the mornington peninsula turned on a truly horrific morning with nasty rain and horrid wind. A break finally came around 11ish and they were off, and as the twitter updates tell us they all landed safely at their destination by mid afternoon.
Anyway back to Harry..... Last year when harry came to stay Mia was not yet 2 and I worried about her gung ho'ness with such a big dog. Harry is so gentle she was fine and this year has proved no different. Best friends pickup up just where they left off.

They sat and watched the rain and ABC kids together all rainy, wet morning ........

 
......... and then after lunch I noticed that there was an unusual slience in the house. This instantly fills me with dread. Not for anything dangerous but this is normally the time I find Mia colouring in the kitchen chairs with black permanent marker or other similar 'quiet' activities.

Instead I found this.....

If it wasn't for the drool, hair and excessive size, Harry could live with us always.
( Me thinks another bigger dog is in the not too distant future)

Now you've seen my house, pop in and visit some others here.

My Creative Space

Today's creative space finds me flat out, whacking, stamping, cutting, sewing, polishing and lacing - Spoons, bubba boots and drums that is, trying to get all the orders finished and posted/delivered.
It never rains but pours. For weeks I have been wanting business to pick up and get back to what it used to be but with the current ecconomic climate I gave up and found myself a part time job to pick up the slack. No sooner did I do this than the work has just kept coming.
Mumasupial has picked up again at the markets and online sales, new shops are approaching me to sell my toys and slings and after last weekends worry about my spoons, the orders have just kept coming sometimes within 1/2 hour of listing the item- to the point that I am now on a mad search for silver plated spoons to be able to keep up.
Hence there are no new photos ready.
I have taken pics of all the spoons before they go out so I can create a catalogue and will take some of all the boots and drums before they get sent to the shop tomorrow but for now a demo version collage of photos taken on nice sunny days (not like today) will have to suffice. Maybe tomorrow I can update the photos as I do like to have fresh new pics for a post.

 

Check out what other crazy crafty weeks people are having over at Kootoyoo.

Wordless Wednesday

What's Cookin?

On a beautiful, almost spring day that reminds us that a miserable, wet winter will end, there was finally the chance to get some decent photos of my cookbook spoon taken and into my madit shop.
Ever since I first made this spoon it has been a constant in my kitchen. I used to try and get cookbooks to stay open at the appropriate page but normally this resulted in the page being covered in whatever was being cooked as my messy fingers had to keep reminding the page to stay open. Well, no longer. This spoon has exceeded my expectations. At best I thought it would hold the book open laying flat on the benchtop but I have found that I can stand the book up and the clip not only holds the pages open but balances the book  so I can still read it while moving around the kitchen.
Now I am hoping that other people find them as useful as I, wondering what they did before it joined them in their cooking endeavours.

 Alas, the weather returns to winter tomorrow and for the next week or so ( that is if you believe weathermen) but I can dream about sunshine and warmth.

The Highs and Low of a Sunday

After being on a high tonight after a very successful Mornington Market, 2 more internet orders, new outlet opportunities for my spoons coming to me without any prompting, enquiries for purchasing my train and car caddies and both my stores being featured on the madeit front page at the same time, I was disappointed when perusing madeit that I found someone, who within 3 days of my spoons being listed, had flooded the market with exactly the same thing, only instead of using vintage sliver spoons, they use old stainless steel spoons.
Before I listed  there was no-one doing anything like this on madeit. I know and understand I cant expect to be the only one selling garden spoons but it was still a bummer on such a good day.
With the day giving both highs and lows on the crafting front I am choosing to stick with the positives as they certainly outweigh the negative and as I continually tell Sarah to look for the good in something, focus on that and try to find something good in a so-called negative, I have to lead by example and remind myself that 'imitation is the best form of flattery'.


So lets go out on a positive - Mumasupial and me2 on the front page at once.

I hope you have had a lovely weekend and if in Melbourne, enjoyed the rain-free, almost hinting at spring, couple of days.

Ho Hum, once again a post will appear on the following day as I forgot the time and finished it after midnight.

Toot, Toot, Chugga Chugga

Well it, the Train Cozy that is, is finished and I must say that although I would change a few things if I made it again, I am extremely happy with how it turned out. So I might say is Mia and Molly Engine.
See for yourself.......

 

As I said there are a few changes I would make as I learnt that Wonder Under does not work all that successfully under 3mm ribbon, it is very easy to stick said ribbon to your ironing board when trying to attach Wonder Under and stitching all the track cross rails individually takes a lot of time.
BUT...
I already have plans to make more but this time for racing cars with a racetrack going all the way around with a pit lane in the middle and possibly a train one but with the track done a far simpler way.
Hmmmm, possiblities, possibilities. Now if only some of my friends had young boys instead of girls.

My Creative Space

My creative space for this week is not quite as advanced as I had hoped it would be. Delayed by life, work and happily the sale of my first spoon on madeit within 2 days of listing them, yay - so excited, and an unexpected order from a new retail outlet  for my kids drums and bubba boots, my train caddy has not evolved very far.
Last night when everyone was tucked up in bed the first drafting stage began, complete with 1/2 size mockup, and then the full size trial and series of adjustments as I found out that just doubling everything did not work,

This photo was taken at about 1:30am when I finally decided that
1. no more could be done without fabric and it was too late to start searching through the stash
and
2.the fact that I needed to be up and awake in under 6 hours
.....  so excuse the bad lighting etc.

I would have thought that as I only had to choose the fabric today I would have made a start and even got it finished but my true libran indecisiveness kicked in to its fullest and I think it took me over 5 hours to finally decide on the colour combination. So as a result this is as far as I got.

Hopefully tomorrow will see it completed and I can post some pictures of it in all its glory. I have a good feeling that this will be a winner with Mia when it is finished as we had to take the paper version out today with us so she could play with with her trains.

Hope your creative space has been a little more productive.
Pop on over to kootoyoo to see what is going on in the crafting world.

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You can now see the finished track in all its glory here. 

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