Computer Slug

Now this is totally unrelated to anything work or crafty. Just something weird that happened this morning, much to the entertainment of my youngest son and me.

We returned from dropping the others at school (the youngest is home again , although I suspect it is less about him being sick now, and more about milking it for all its worth!). Anyway, I sat down to check my emails, only to discover that there was a little slug sliming its way around my computer screen. I called Master 6 out to have a look. The background is the standard Microsoft Green Rolling Hills job so after asking why it was there, Master 6 jokes that maybe Sluggy thinks that he is really sliding around on grass.

I grab my camera and we giggle away together as Sluggy
leaves the grassy hill to:

"fly up into the sky"

"circle on a cloud"

and then "return to earth".

Quite entertaining and it feels nice to have a good laugh with one of my children early in the day.

I will show the photos to the others when they get home-hopefully it will give them a laugh too!

Until next time...

Fairy Wands

I have been working on some fairy wands. They are based on some wands my sister made for the nieces in the family (including my daughter) a number of years ago. After much searching I finally found someone who supplies the paper mache wands that are used for the base (we had not seen them around for a long time). The weird thing was, after I finally tracked them down on the net, on my very next trip to Spotlight, what did I find? That's right- paper mache star wands!

I have painted, glittered and then decorated each wand with a variety of ribbons and bells. They were heaps of fun to make and I think they have turned out very well. They can be used for play, dress ups, as a costume accessory or to decorate a room...any way your little fairy princess wants.

I have only just finished the photos, so will be working on listing them in my Made It store tomorrow as the kids are getting hungry now!

Handmade Kids

If you like all things handmade for kids check out this site- it is like a buyers guide for anything and everything handmade for babies and kids including clothing, accessories, toys, decor, bedding...the list goes on (and includes my stuff!)

Keeping Busy...

Unfortunately I have not posted anything here for a while. I have been so busy with family birthdays, sick kids, school holidays etc etc as well as increasing my stock levels, trying new designs, setting up a Facebook fan page (oh that is a whole new world...) and researching advertising options so that my products are seen by the "right" people. It is fascinating and challenging and has certainly been keeping me busy.

I am currently working on some hats that will only be available in the smaller sizes- they are made with 100% cotton, but it is an ultra soft baby cotton, and will work best in the smaller sizes. I hope to have them ready by the end of this week, or early next week.

I have recently come into contact with a lovely lady called Michelle from Pamper Boxes -after purchasing a few of Paul's pens, Michelle has ordered more to be included in some future gift boxes she has available-very exciting! Michelle is a lovely, helpful person, who has kindly taken some of her own time to give me some advice on getting started and getting the word out to potential customers. Thank you so much Michelle!

I have worked on my new range of hats made with Anchor Magicline (100% cotton) and have many of them listed in my Made It store:














They are all available in various sizes to fit anywhere from newborn to 12+ years and to keep things as simple as possible I now offer free postage on all our items (see listings for specific details).

Until next time...

Children's Cotton Crocheted Sunhats

I am very happy that I have finally perfected my own crochet sun hat pattern for children, including working out the various sizes. This was quite an accomplishment for someone who only taught herself to crochet in recent years, but I am very pleased with myself and proud of the results. This pattern has been tried and tested including being washed. Some of my early attempts looked good, but lost shape when washed, so I had to keep working on it, to fix that problem before I could even consider putting them up for sale. I am very happy, and relieved to have designed a pattern that looks good when made AND also looks good after being washed and dried! Yeah! I am also getting very favourable comments from people who see them (and this is from people other than my friends and family!)

All my sunhats are made from natural fibres- mainly cotton with an occasional blend of bamboo/cotton. As the hats are crocheted using natural fibres, they breathe well, and will stretch and shape to fit a child's head comfortably. I have made hats in various colours/patterns, which people can buy (ordering the size they want), but I am also willing to take custom orders for specific colours if anyone would like something different from what I already have on offer.

I have a variety currently available in my Made It store and I will also be adding new designs/colours regularly.
This are some of the designs I currently have on offer:













I am currently working on a new batch of hats, which are made from Anchor Magicline Cotton. They are fabulous "patterned" threads in designs such as Splash, Stripes and Dotty. I should be ready to list them by next week.

I have decided to focus on making items for children, atleast at the moment, so in line with that decision I have converted all my handmade fabric buttons into hair ties/ponytail holders. I will be photographing them on the weekend, and relisting them next week too.

Until next time...

Handmade Buttons!

As promised I indulged my love of buttons by buying what I needed to make some of my own. I particularly love large buttons so started with the two largest sizes I could get-45mm and 38mm. After going through my own fabric stash and raiding my sisters collection too (Thanks Kylie!) I had heaps of wonderful fabrics to try. These were made up primarily of reclaimed clothes-many vintage, retro or just plain gorgeous and unusual. I had so much fun making the buttons and still have heaps of fabric so I am going to get some more button components so I can make some more! I might also put some smaller ones onto elastics to make pretty pony tail holders and have a go at making some button hair clips.

Here are my first attempts at button making:







A collection of large (38mm) handmade fabric buttons (now available in my Made It shop)
















A collection of extra large (45mm) handmade fabric buttons which will be available in my Made It shop soon!






It is so exciting when you try a new craft and instantly love both the creative process and the results! Yeah!

Til next time...

New Bags with Pockets

I have finished the two bags I was working on- they are the first ones which I have added inside pockets to, when I made the linings. They went really well and I am very pleased. I am going to include pockets in all the larger bags I make, from now on. I convinced my lovely neighbour to model the bags for me to photograph (it helps give people a better idea of the size and look) and I have listed them in my Made It store. I will include the some photos below:














Brown Maui Bag- This is made with Moda Vera Maui Yarn. Each bag I make is fully lined with cotton fabric to prevent small items from escaping. The straps are also lined to prevent stretching.
This bag has two pockets so items like keys and mobile phone do not get lost in the depths of the bag. It has velcro to hold it closed-I felt this yarn was elaborate enough on its own, and didn't need to be embellished with any buttons.
The yarn is multi-stranded. The main colour is dark brown with strands in various shades of pink, running throughout. It is a looped yarn so the bag has a lot of texture.













Red Maui Bag: This bag is essentially the same as the one above except for the colour and a very slight difference in strap length.
The main colour of this yarn is a rich deep red, with strands of dark yellow, cream and pink running through it.




This is my lovely (and patient) neighbour Ama, modelling the bags for me! Thanks Ama!

Anyway until next time...