Guess What? #1

This will be the first in a series of a new game I want to begin.  When enough people have tried to guess (either in the comments below, or on my facebook page) I will reveal the answer!  The photos will be from objects around where I live.  Don't worry about if your answer is correct, just guess and have fun!  The idea is to learn to appreciate and observe all the interesting patterns and objects around us.  Life is much more interesting that way.

Regards,

What the Heck is Spoonflower?

Spoonflower is a very cool website where you can design your own fabric and then they will print it and send  it to you (or other people can buy it too).  I have been working on a small collection of designs for a while now, and learning a bit about how to make repeated patterns (sort of like the same way they make wallpaper patterns).

One of my favourite designers at the moment is the very talented Valentina Ramos.  You can see her work here. I could just look at her designs for hours.

Designing fabric is really quite interesting, and a lot of fun once you learn how to do it.  You can take a single object, and change it about, coming up with many different colours and combinations.  Don't worry if you are not good at drawing, either...amazing things can be done with a digital camera or a scanner.

I have opened a little shop in Spoonflower, and my goal is to get some designs ready for sale.  The catch is you have to order a fabric swatch of every design you want to sell ( I guess it is sort of like a test to see if it will look good on fabric).  I would appreciate your feedback if you have time to take a peek at my Spoonflower shop.  It's the first time I have done this sort of thing, so any advice would be very welcome.

Regards,

Let the Paint Flow.

While organising my new little 'nest' (the room I have now taken over with all my stuff) I found a box of very neglected painting gear.  I used to do so much painting, but with three small children around, I sort of gave up for a while until I had somewhere I could leave work in progress out.  There is nothing that kills my enthusiasm more than having to put it all away every time we eat a meal, or every time a little hand reaches up and tips the dirty painting water all over the floor.

Now I have my own room (YAY!!) I feel ready to paint. I think I have to get some new paintbrushes, though, the ones I have in that box are so wrecked that they paint three lines instead of one.  Anyway I have started this painting to get my painting skills back in practice, and it is feeling so good.  I really love to paint.  I have filmed this piece so far, so make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to see it.  Should be done soon.

Bye for now,
Regards

Just Relax!

Had a bit of a stressful day today? My guess is most of you have in one way or another.  Look at you, sitting there all hunched up with your eyes too close to the computer screen, crouched over the keyboard (or clutching your tablet or phone with that vice-like, sweaty grip).

Stress can come in many forms.  If we are not feeling anxious about having too much to do, then we are bored and restless.  When we don't have enough money, we worry about the bills piling up.  When we have a lot of money, we worry about that too...we never seem to have enough no matter how much we get.  We humans are just never satisfied!

Well whatever has been getting you tense these days, forget about it for at least six and a half minutes, take your fingernails out of the dashboard, ungrit your teeth, un-furrow your brow, roll your shoulders out a couple of times, sit back and enjoy this relaxing drawing video I made just for you.  Maybe it will inspire you to pick up a pencil and draw, the next time you feel things are getting you down.  It's a much better solution than all the other bad things you could be doing instead!

'Remedy for a Stressful Day' Click on the video above, relax, and enjoy!

Regards,

Inspiration Please, Friends!

The children's bookcase I am working on. Where should I go from here?

Hi Folks! Tonight I have been busy painting this cute children's bookcase we picked up from the school next door to us.  Perfect for three home schooled children who love books.  

Today has been a really book themed day, actually.  I took my children to the little local library and they signed up for 'The Great Reading Race' competition which the library are running at the moment.  Then the kids chose about a million books to take home (hey, I'm not complaining...I would rather they read books than watch DVDs)  and then on the way home, we passed the primary school next door and lo and behold they were getting rid of all this school furniture. For free! Most of it was pretty useless, but we grabbed this cute little book shelf.  It even has cubby holes in the back to put more stuff inside!! 

My husband said 'We can just stick it in the garage to store things, it's pretty ugly'.  'Oh no', I said, 'I will paint it!'.  'Yeah right' he said, looking at me sideways with a smirk.  My husband knows my bad habit of not finishing things. We have a lamp sitting next to our bed with a half finished painted design on it that has annoyed him for years.  However, this time I was feeling very inspired.  I grabbed the paint, rolled the bookcase out on the grass under a tree (it has wheels too!) and my two eldest and I began to throw on some paint.  They (aged 4 and a half and 6) both now have pale purple acrylic tinges in their hair and the youngest was almost completely covered in paint splodges when he finished, but we had a great time.  It's all part of the homeschooling experience, right? 

Children's bookcase.  View from the front.

Children's bookcase, with books added.

Anyway Once we got the main colour on and they all went to bed,  it was brought inside for some details.  Here is what I have come up with so far.  What do you think?  I was aiming for a sort of 'books flying through the clouds and off into the distance' sort of effect.  These are just the outlines.  Now I need some advice.  What should I do next?  Should I add more details, some shading, some different colours? Should I paint over it and start again? Or should I just leave it the way it is?  I really am a bit stuck and need some inspiration, to prove husband wrong and finish the project.  Waiting eagerly for your comments!!

Regards,

Stitching in the Children's Ward.

Hi everyone...Long time no blog! I have been making things, though.  Perhaps not the sort of thing that you are used to seeing on Miraculous Mosquito...but I thought I would show you anyway.

The pear needle book I made
in the hospital.  You can see I am still
practicing my blanket stitch!

We have been going a bit 'felt crazy' around here lately (by we, I mean myself and my 6 and 4 year old).  I recently paid a visit to my favourite shop in the whole world, called 'Pete's Emporium'.  It used to be a tiny little shop in Porirua (just north of Wellington) jam-packed full of all sorts of bits and pieces.  Now it has moved across the road to a bigger space, and good ol' Pete has expanded his range of items, in particular the art/craft/fabric/sewing section which I spend most of my time in.  There I picked up a whole lot of felt in many different colours, then on my way home I dropped in at my local library where I grabbed the reserved books they had kindly saved for me.  One was a book about how to make felt toys and other groovy things.

This little guy turned out kind of cute, I thought :)
His body is stuffed with polyester stuffing, and his tail is flat.

My kids just borrowed a book from the library called 'Jolly Olly Octopus' I think
that is where the inspiration for this came from.

These clouds are just flat, stitched around the edge, with a white side and a blue side.

   Recently I have been spending a bit of time in the hospital with my daughter and son who both have asthma and have had some nasty attacks lately.  There's not much do do there while you are cooped up in a small curtained cubicle waiting for the next inhalation of Ventolin.  Beforehand, waiting at home while the ambulance was on its way and I was making sure I had everything packed in my overnight bag, I decided I was not going to spend another night in the children's ward with nothing to do but play games on my phone while my eyes turned square.  I grabbed the felt toy book, a bag of felt, and some needles and embroidery thread.  At least I could teach myself to do something while I was there.  I made a really cute felt needle book with a pear on it which, although not perfect by any means, didn't turn out that bad and I was happy with it.

This little fishy turned out a bit weird
but I like his shape.

I have always been a bit scared of sewing for some reason, but now I am really starting to enjoy it, and my children also ask if they can do some as well when they see me stitching away.  Encouraged by that mild success I decided to make something a bit more detailed, and when I got home from the hospital I decided to make an interactive toy for my children.  I made some fish, an octopus, and a few clouds, which I am somehow going to make into a sort of picture which will either be attached to a wall or made into a 'quiet/soft book'.  The kids will be able to attach the fish and other objects onto an ocean themed fabric/felt background wherever they want, with snaps and velcro.  I've got a few more ideas...a guy fishing in a boat...a giant clam with a pearl inside....etc etc! Now to actually FINISH it....that's my REAL challenge !!  If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you will probably know that finishing things isn't exactly my speciality, but I'm getting there.

Hope you are all having a great day (or night!)
Regards,