Monthly Archives: October 2012

Oct28

Snake Softie – a rainy Sunday activity.

Posted on October 28, 2012 by thestick81

So my scrap material collection is looking quite impressive at the moment, I thought I’d give another softie a whirl. I was ready to make an owl or elephant, but DS talked me into a snake. That sounded easy enough to make with no pattern. We discussed how big he would like it and he picked out the colours (to match the colours in his room).

I free hand drew a template for the top ‘scales’ panel of the snake.

Then, with a bit of fiddling around, joined them together, flat edge to flat edge to make the top part of the snake – less the head;

Sewing along the flat side between each section (I only picked the wrong side once, lol)

Make the last panel only a half panel, so the head will eventually be facing forward. Once sewn, iron flat. Then lay on chosen fabric for underside of snake. Trace around the edge to make it the same size. I drew the underside of the head in at this point too.

For the top part of the head, I cut out and extra diomand shape, cut a slit into the centre of the head, and sewed the diamond in, to create a 3rd dimension. Don’t forget to add the eyes BEFORE you start stuffing. Hand stitch along the back of the neck (you can use this opportunity to tuck in and create a bend in the neck too if you like.

Really need to invest in a fabric pencil, to avoid those black lines! lol.

He’s a bit funny looking, but not too bad for a slap together job. DS thinks he is great, even with his crazy eyes.

Oct8

The New House – Part 1

Posted on October 8, 2012 by thestick81

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I had a long list of ‘must haves’ when it came to buying this house. One of which was a decent laundry. Out of the last 5 houses we had lived in, there was never a bench and I was over the moon actually, to even have a cupboard – lets not even talk about the ones that were part of the garage. As with just about every other person in the world, I HATE doing the laundry. So as much as I was looking forward to decorating the rest of the house, I decided to make the laundry as user friendly as possible first.

The blank canvas.

Notice the… nothingness. Oh, but there is space!!!!

We made some measurements to allow for a front loader washer and freezer to optimise bench space. Took the measurements to Masters and designed the laundry. At the last minute I decided against a bench the full length of the room and swapped that out for a broom cupboard. So happy I did this, it fits all the mops, brooms, steam mop, fold away clothes horse, ironing board, all of which I hadn’t actually thought about before! The existing dryer bracket was in a really bad spot, that meant you couldn’t really lean into the sink. That, and the door on the washer and dryer opened in opposite directions but were also offset, made it really awkward to transfer loads from one to the other – so I moved it right over to beside the broom cupboard. This also made fitting over head cupboards within the left over space easier.

At the last minute I decided to sacrifice some bench space for a broom cupboard – it was a good choice!

And finally the finished product. You can really notice in the bottom photo the difference in tiles, unfortunately we looked everywhere and this was the closest match to the existing tiles. In real life you can’t actually see the difference though – it was not worth potentially re-plastering the wall to replace the lot. The colour is actually the same to the naked eye, its just the ripple is slightly different which catches the light differently at this camera angle. We put the Dyson hand held into one of the over heads and ran the cord out to the plug, to keep things tidy. A little basket for odds and ends (random pegs and coins found in pockets etc) a nice lush ever green by the window and some artificial succulents to brighten the room – couldn’t be happier!

Yay!

The cat also has its litter box in the laundry, so it seemed like the logical place to put in a cat door. There is also a small fold away line again from Ikea. Positioned right by the door to hang delicates and my beloved Enjo products that can’t go in the dryer. I will probably hand a sheer curtain up at some point, but I am willing to wait until I find a good match in a bargain bin, rather than spending $150 on something I don’t really need.

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Oct2

The New house – part 2.

Posted on October 2, 2012 by thestick81

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The ‘baby’s’ room. Ok ok, he is not a ‘baaaabeeee’ anymore, but he is MY baby, dag nabbit! So he will be a baby for ever more… until there is another baby. I am after all, still ‘the baby’ to my parents, even as I head into my very very late… 20s.

So, along my life journey I met the wonderful Krystal . When I say ‘met’ I mean, well, we became mutual internet stalkers of each other… or something like that. Anyway, that’s not really relevant. What IS important is that she introduced me to green. Not just any green, because lets be honest, everyone loves green. But Kermit, ZOMG, holy shizit that is bright GREEN green. At first I was like ‘whhhhhhaaat you talking bout Willis?’ and then it hit me. For months I dreamed of it, how much I wanted it, how it was totally going to work… I HAD to have it.

So, when we moved into our new house, where every child had their own room, I decided to start my bedroom decorating adventure with the Eli’s room. The only child that could verbalise no preference. *Evil grin*.

Elis room is actually a study, so has no built in cupboards. Thankfully he is impartial to hanging his clothes up, so its not a huge problem. His window is set within an alcove at the entrance, so the room does not receive a lot of natural light, especially in the afternoon when the sun is on the other side of the house. Another reason I think the super bright colour is great.

This is a before photo taken in the morning.

We already had most of the furniture for his room, including a big bed. So part of this project was also to see that he progressed out of the cot by the end.

We had already put the dragon light up – because I am impatient like that.

So, a morning of cleaning walls and with the help of my parents, we had the room painted in a day. By the way, I am THE worst painter in the world according to my father. Am I? Or was that all part of my evil plan to get him to take over? Maybe we will never know, mwahahhahhaa. Unfortunately due to a iPhoto malfunction, I have lost all progression photos. Hopefully I will be able to recover them some day and add. Anyway, the finished product;

Crocodile mirror from Ikea

To complete the room I need to replace the fan with something more modern and sleek. Once all kids rooms are done, we will be replacing all carpet. It really feels ‘unfinished’ without the carpet done, but there is no point doing one room at a time, nor is there any point replacing carpet before we have finished painting. Hopefully it will be done within the next 6 or so months though, then I will update! Oh, and I am still looking for the perfect rug for the floor. I want something that contains the right colours, but apparently it does not exists. So for now, he is just using a red one we already head.

*For where everything was purchased, see individual photos.

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Oct2

Spring goodness!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by thestick81

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I LOVE SPRING! Sorry to yell at you all, but seriously? Best season of the year. Check out what I found at mums today – a Willie Wagtail has made a nest in the most picture perfect position. Like something out of a fairy scene.

Can you see it?

*Updated, the eggs have now hatched.

The hatchlings.

around 2 weeks

close up.

Oct2

Halloween craft for the kiddies

Posted on October 2, 2012 by thestick81

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Another Pinterest inspired craft activity. Ours may not have turned out as well as theirs, but it was fun no less. Well, if you ignore the tonne of glitter that is brightening up the garden, house and every other surface within a 1 kilometre radius. I recommend you do this one outside!

Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, boogly googly eyes, pva or craft glue, black felt or card board, dress making pins to secure the wings.

Coat the balls with a thin even layer of glue using a paintbrush. Sprinkle a generous amount of glitter onto a disposable plate, roll ball until completely covered. Use a little more glue to secure eyes in desired position.

Samples of bats.

: Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, boogly googly eyes, pva or craft glue, black felt or card board, dress making pins to secure the wings.

: Every night sky needs a moon. We just made this with some recycled card board, glue and glitter.

: Coat the balls with a thin even layer of glue using a paintbrush. Sprinkle a generous amount of glitter onto a disposable plate, roll ball until completely covered. Use a little more glue to secure eyes in desired position.

: We just found this branch in the park near by. I would have liked to paint it black, but had no black paint on hand.

: Samples of bats.

: Gold bat

: Because 3 year old girls are not interested in making bats apparently.

Oct2

Sun Catchers – School holiday entertainment.

Posted on October 2, 2012 by thestick81

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Sun Catchers – School holiday entertainment.

I have a stupid amount of beads that I have collected over the last 20 years and the kids love playing with them. I picked up these ‘diamonds’ on ebay for just over $4 each including postage.

Sun catcher, miscellaneous beads and crystals, string or fishing line, scissors.

The kids couldn’t help themselves and had to smear their slimey little hands all over them as soon as we opened the mail. They are available in 9 different colours. I ordered these just for me and Layla, but now I have had to order another green and clear one for the boys.

Layla demonstrating that it’s child’s play. She added bells, crystals and beads. Butterfly beads of course.

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Oct2

School Holiday Entertainment, Snappy Peg Animals.

Posted on October 2, 2012 by thestick81

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School Holiday Entertainment, Snappy Peg Animals.

As we were planning on spending most of the holidays at home, I made it my challenge to do craft and spring cleaning to fill in the days. Todays project was inspired by Pinterest – well actually, most of them are these days.

coloured card, scissors, black marker pen, pegs (wooden pegs would have been better, but this is all I had on hand) strong glue and some boogly eyes.

Keep the shapes simple so they are easy to cut out.

Pretty self explanatory.

Once you have cut out the shapes, cut down the middle, starting from the mouth. Run a line of glue along the peg while closed and position animal with its mouth closed, being careful not to glue it shut. Glue eye in desired place. Allow to dry – and there you have it! So quick and easy I am surprised I have not seen them on Mister Maker!

: coloured card, scissors, black marker pen, pegs (wooden pegs would have been better, but this is all I had on hand) strong glue and some boogly eyes.

: Keep the shapes simple so they are easy to cut out.

: Pretty self explanatory.

: I used super glue, but any strong glue would have been fine. If I had used wooden pegs, craft or PVA would have been better, but it would have taken too long to dry on the plastic. Attach eyes.