What I've been pinning this week... - {blogtoberfest day 14}

I have no idea what to blog about today so I'm going to be slack and show you the yummy things I've been pinning this week on pinterest. If you haven't heard of pinterest get out from living under your rock and get yourself signed up! Not sure if you still need to be 'invited' so if that's the case drop me an email or comment and I'll do you the honour! You can follow my pinning adventure here.

Chevron crochet blanket

Chevron trays

DIY button pillow

No Sew felt pencil roll 

Chevron Lazy Susan

Bed side table option

Till next time, keep crafting! xx.

Too Tired - {blogtoberfest day 9}

Sorry I was MIA yesterday, I have been busy sewing and didn't even turn the computer on! I did however 'try' to blog from my itouch but for some reason beyond myself it wouldn't send! Bloody technology!

Today I went with the fam to the new IKEA in Springvale, boy that place is HUGE!!! Not sure if I will bother going there again, I think I'll stick to good old richmond! Oh and remind me NEVER to take a 4 year old with us, it was ridiculous.

I did however pick up some fabric and more jars to accomodate my many buttons! I now have a jar for blue, pink, white, green and red all in their own jars, yum!

I'm going to leave it there for now, am to tired to be crafty or witty.

Till next time, keep crafting!

Crafting, my birthday and a fish or two.

Well what a busy little bee I’ve been, well busy doing a whole lot of nothing!

Where should I begin, oh yes my birthday which fell on the same day/night as the Eastside Crafters first ever crafty catch up being held at the community room at Lilydale lake. I was so nervous leading up to the night, I went and bought my refreshments, made some yummy (packet) cupcakes and made my way down to the rooms.

My sister/assistant and I got there about 1/2 hr early to prepare everything, when we arrived I saw a gathering of 6 or so people waiting out the front, I started to get all excited that they had actually came and early, ha how wrong was I (they were actually a local fitness group using the lights on the veranda to do their sit ups!) we went inside after the first disappointment for the night, set out the tables, we only set out a few saying to ourselves if there are more we’ll just have to get more tables out (ha!).

So the we acclimated ourselves with our new temporary digs, which I might say are pretty damn awesome! Sound system, digital projector setup, fully equipped kitchen with coffee, tea and sugar! The urn was boiling, the name labels and sign up sheet was all set out at the door every thing was ready! We sat down to await our new crafty friends arrival. 7.45pm came no one arrived, that’s cool, no one likes to be on time, 7.50pm flew past still just us two nigel's, 8pm finally the awesome Lynda from Stoked Creations arrived, knitting in hand and we started chatting about everything from babies, to partners and everything in between. 8.30pm arrived it was still us. Time went on and once it reached about 9.20 I resigned myself to the fact no one was going to show.

I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed and something about it being my birthday just made it that little bit more pathetic. Ahh well pity party over with, my mind is now onto next months meet up which will be held on Tue 18th @ 7.45pm You can check out the Eastside crafters page for more info.
I did however take a before and after pic, the before taken as we were setting up…I challenge you to spot the difference!

BEFORE….




AFTER…



Next month will be better (I hope).

This week we also headed back down to Lilydale lake to take the kids for a spot of fishing! The Yarra Valley Fly Fishers group run this free event every year which allows kids to try fishing. They net of a small part of the lake (closest to the dock) stock it with rainbow trout and supply instruction as well as a baited rod for the kids. Each child gets 30 minutes to try their luck, we were out of it I think, we had a couple of nibbles, but nothing caught. I think Mr 4 was more excited to just reel the line in without bothering to wait for the fish! It was fun non the less and we will for sure going back next year, some one might even get a his very own fishing rod from Santa this year if he plays his cards right!





Of course rolling down the hill was much more fun than boring old fishing!

Now to the crafty stuff, I’ve finally mastered knitting, well when I say mastered knitting I mean I can knit and pearl and cast on and off and make it look somewhat like it supposed to! I might look like a bit of a nufty doing it but hey, it’s taken me years to finally figure it out. I am off to get myself some smaller needles (only have huge 10mm one at the moment) and some nicer wool to play around with. I really want to make myself a chevron (I know big surprise) blanket or scarf so we shall see how that turns out! I will share with you the YouTube videos I used to teach me, yes they are aimed at teenagers, yes they are a bit dorky (sitting on a chair backwards does not make you cool or assist you to relate to teens, just sayin!). That is tomorrow post and hopefully I can show you a sneak peak of what I am working on for a good cause. Oh and also some exciting news!

Before I go I just wanted to announce the winner (and the only entry) of the button magnet competition. Congratulations to Bec! I will be in touch!

Chevron Baby! & Wee Giveaway!

I have a new obsession, no it hasn’t replaced my button one (as you will see later in the post)! If you haven’t already guessed what it is take a look at my new background, have you seen this around on pinterst or the design blogs lately? Most of you will call it zigzag but apparently the posh way to call it is Chevron… I’m not sure why it appeals to me, perhaps the clean and neat lines or the over all pattern, either way I resisted getting on the band wagon for ages but not any longer, so much so that I spend all of yesterday afternoon creating my very own chevron piece. You wouldn’t believe how freaking complicated making the pattern was, it doesn’t look confusing well I’m here to tell you it was, I so should have paid more attention in math at high school! Oh and I still stuffed the pattern up, yep only I could make a mistake when painting straight lines….
So here is what I made, what was once a humble pin board from Ikea (vaggis, for those playing at home), which has been through a life already (being covered in freaky bird fabric also from Ikea) is now my very pretty and stylish chevron pin board!

Isn’t she pretty! Don’t look too closely as may have made some of the lines a little fatter than others but hey you live you learn!
Now onto my other obsession…BUTTONS! I’ve been wanting to do this for ages and the stars finally aligned so here are my cute button magnets, aren’t they so cute! I can’t wait to make heaps, they are soooooo easy to do. I found magnets from my local $2 shop for $2.50 (not sure how that works!), the glue I used was Tarzan’s grip, I was going to use araldite but a) I’m a tight ass and don’t want to pay $11 for glue and b) well there is no b, I’m just a tight ass. I also contemplated using the wiz bang glue E6000 but again the tight ass thing came into effect! So Tarzan’s grip it was.

Now because I’m awesome I’m going to giveaway these cute button magnets, so if you would like to win them leave a comment below, and for every person you bring to the blog you will receive another entry! All they need to do is leave a comment saying who recommended them to Musings. A winner will be picked by random next Sunday 25th Sept.

:: This giveaway is now closed::

 

Also don’t forget that this Tuesday along with being my birthday (presents welcomed) will be the first crafty catch up with Eastside Crafters! I’m kind of nervous but mostly excited about it, I just hope people turn up as it will be a lonely couple of hours for me!
Until next time, keep crafting!

Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

I have a confession, please don't judge me, but I have to let it out....

I love buttons... It doesn't matter it's colour, shape, age, I am a button whore!

Ahhh that feels so much better!

I think the humble little button doesn't get the respect and acknowledgement it deserves! Just think if there were no buttons, pants out be around our ankles, shirts and blouses a gape, not to mention you wouldn't have a witty way to tell someone to be quiet!

In honor of my coming out of the button closet I thought I would share some buttony creations I've come across in my crafty travels, some of which I've created myself, some I've found...

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EDIBLE BUTTONS!!!!

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I could keep going and going and going but I won't!

If you have come across any great button projects or tutorials I would love to see them!

Have a beautifully crafty day!

I ♥ OP shopping, do you?

OMG I love a good op shop, it's so satisfying to go into a shop full of glorious wonders knowing I could find my newest favourite things for a couple of dollars! I recently came across a big jar of vintage buttons for $10, I was in heaven! I can't go past an oppy without checking out their haberdashery section. I also check out the kids clothing section, having a 4year old boy who is growing like a weed the need for new clothing on a regular basis becomes bloody expensive, but picking up a cute top of pair of shorts for $1 or $2 each how can you go wrong! And the best thing is because kids do grow like weeks the clothing for sale is usually in great nick or sometimes even brand new!

One of my most exciting finds recently while not from an op shop is a book about op shops! It's actually a directory of op shops all over Victoria! How good is that?!, over 380 pages detailing 773 Op Shops.

Image borrowed from Little Red's craft cupboard.

Image borrowed from Op Shop Guide Victoria

I am seriously considering parting with $25 for this gem as I think it would pay for itself after a few trips. If you're interested in scoring yourself a copy you can pop over to their site, or check out their Facebook page. Also if you're in the Dandy Ranges you can pop into Little Red Craft Cupboard in Monbulk and pick yourself up a copy, while there why not peruse the crafty goodness available for sale!




Till next time crafteroonies!

I'm being crafty again!

It's felt like a lifetime since I was able to unleash my creative side! With a business, family, school and work there just wasn't time for me to do anything fun!

But that has changed, gone is the business and school (don't worry I didn't get rid of the family just so I could whip out the hot glue gun, although it has crossed my mind ;)). Am working part time so that leaves me at least 1 day a week where I can CRAFT CRAFT CRAFT!

My re entry in the crafty world has been a hazardous one, and I've got the burns to prove it! I've been working on some monogram wall art for me (of course) my niece and son. Apart from the 1st degree burns this is a fun and easy project which I guess could be done with a cold glue but then you have to wait for it to dry, deal with the fumes, I'm an instant gratification kinda gal so I like to be able to hang it as soon as it's finished!

My first attempt was on an canvas I've re purposed, it has a small tear in it as well as a spot where Mr 4 decided he would like a blob of glue...

I used all vintage buttons from a stash i uncovered at a op shop recently and it turned out a bit awesome if I do say so my self! (again ignore the tear and spot).

My second attempt looks much prettier, it's for my wee niece Miss 2.

Bit cute hey!

Next is and "N" in red's and blues. Will post a pic once finished!

Onto something not as crafty per say but so much fun, Pinterest, heard of it? It's an awesome place to 'pin' inspiration, items of interest, recipes, tutorial or anything you want to keep for future reference, I think of it as a visual bookmark. If you haven't already got an account it's a must! You will need an invite to join so if you would like one leave your email in a comment below and I will be sure to add you as it's something no creative person should be without. If you would like to see what I'm going on about or wish to follow my pins press the button on the side of the page.

WARNING: I do not take responsibility for the hours you will spend pinning, make sure all animals, elderly and children are fed and can use the remote to avoid any problems!

Any who I'm signing off for my first post on my brand new spanking blog, I aim to get something posted at least once per day be it a craft I've made, a tutorial or something I've found on my journeys around the interwebs.