my little peace of zakka styling

i'm really excited about joining in with

this sew-along project

i've been intending to one day 

have my hands on my own copy of one of these

now i'm going to do it!

Zakka Style 

by Rashida Coleman-Hale

I love the look of linen or such with pops

of great fabric!

can you tell ... ?

spot the notebooks & tissue pouches

so looking forward to getting my teeth into 

lots of these projects 

& checking out everyone else's masterpieces as well 

... are you joining in too?

April to September 2012

now i just actually need to 'follow' the pattern

& not make it up as i go!!

the great art of hand painted tissue paper ...

i was smitten when i was little

 i read it once or twice or more

when i was teaching art ...

& now i read & re-read 

this special book

to my little boy

i'm still smitten

 this book is

simply genius

&

creative

numbers to count

the sun comes up

the moon shines brightly

there is a feast of food

colour

texture

days of the week

refreshed

waiting

rest & restore

hope

the joy of something beautiful 

we're thinking about using this masterpiece as

a jumping off point 

to encourage learning to read

as a valuable life skill

 to the children 

when will visit a some schools in  

Ambon

my mind is buzzing

and i'm

so excited

as i've just worked out that 

THE

great  

Eric Carle

writes his own BLOG

yes peoples.... you can read what he thinks!!

whooo hooo!!

i've had a bit of a read...

go on you should too

he's wonderful

2009 was the 

40th Anniversary of the VHC

& Eric Carle turned 80 that same year

are you doing the maths

so i'm 40 ... what's my VHC going to be??

hmmm i'm working on it!

& 

for the love of story time

you have got to witness 

THIS

at least once in your life

.... yep! 

and so do the little people in your life

& the older people too ...

basically anyone who has ever wondered

after the thought of a butterfly

(you know after all that time in cocoon - they don't live for very long!)

 

 oh & yeah ...

6 more pencil rolls were needed for the count

that's 28 total

.... loaded now with the lead loot

they are cute & fun & the kids will love them i am sure

sunshine & sales

lovely sunshine-y time this morning at this sweet little 

indoors market in my home suburb

had lots of visits from people in my life too

and a fabulous position today!

lots of different items sold

including a few larger items which i am most pleased about

new notebooks & tissue pouches were a hit

i am getting this display thing sorted out

trying to perfect it just so ...

each market i try something new with the set up 

& alter how various products are displayed

it does makes a difference

product placement .... hmmm

can you see leaning against the wall one of my recent hard rubbish finds

... that white ladder looking rack is part of a discarded cot

worked really well displaying some of my patchwork bamboo blankets etc

nearly had a disaster when i forgot a tablecloth for the ragged card table

another friendly stall holder saved me with a spare! whew!

don't mind the phone pics ... looking at these it doesn't look all that impressive

however i've kind of been up close & personal with every stitch!

but in real life i thought it all looked great ... good to record & take stock ...

Treasures & Tastes @ Trinity Market

 i'm excited! 

my No:1 Market for the year is tomorrow

i have got on & sewed & sewed 

& made & made ....

& had a ball creating it all 

.... had some time at home to myself last weekend

so many great little & large items finished ...

really should have posted as i've gone along but seriously

been so busy whenever i've had a spare moment

to just 'make' ... so blogging now ...

Treasures and Tastes @ Trinity

Trinity Anglican Church

Union Road Surrey Hills

9am - 1pm

every item is hand made or home grown

3rd Saturday of each month

March to Dec

note i've listed the dates to the right ...

 little girls' skirts

travel tissue pack covers

patchwork baby blankets in 2 sizes

appliqued baby suits

notebook covers

photo brag book covers

kids aprons

crochet flower clips

muslin & bamboo baby wraps

so finishing up on a friday ...
... or maybe early sat morn!?
ready for the 1st market of 2012
so with another finish it up friday ... enJOY

 if you see anything you like

you can always ask ....

i'm sure we can work something out!

Pencil Rolls ... all 22 started & finished!

thankyou

so much to an awesome bunch of girls

for helping make these pencil rolls!

 so yep all finished up on a friday!!!
so joining in for finish it up friday with crazy mom quilts
if you'd like to make your own sweet little pencil roll
then have a look here
... i wrote you all a tutorial & an explanation
as to why we've made this a group effort & so many??!
also joining in MAKE:GROW:THRIFT
with the Haby Goddess again this week ...
has been one of my MAKE projects this week ...

thanks again to:
Cas

Lizzie

Jo

Rhonda

Aretha

Judy

we made
22 pencil rolls

2 hours

7 girls

5 machines

2 irons

2 bottles of rose

1 water soluble marker pen

(my only mistake was not having another pen!)

its was a really great time

& we were so productive

what's next?

hmmm

messenger bags?

i spy patchworky mini quilts?

any ideas

working on it!

but thankyou

and we missed you

Sam, Karen, Cath & Kate

will take some better pics

of all our work tomorrow

when the sun comes up 

& they are dry from all the water spray!

... out takes .... great fun!

you make me smile like the sun

... hey i adore comments!
love to hear your thoughts ....

Ambon Mission Trip: Pencil Rolls

my little family

 my husband

my boy

my mum

& my dad

are all joining in a mission/awareness

tour to Ambon, Indonesia

we're very excited about this

& think its going to be a wonderful

life experience for all of us

we're supporting the foundation

Lawamena

Lawamena is an Ambonese word that means

keep on moving forward! i like that!

they sponsor children in order to continue their eduction

we also are really great friends with the directors

& so this foundation has a special place in our hearts

there's noting like personal ties!

our ABC Playful Market

fundraising contributed to Lawamena

pronounced "LA-WA-MEAN-A"

(psst ... yes we are going to do another PM or 2!!

the 28th July & the 8th Dec ..... interested??)

we're going to visit two of the schools

that Lawamena supports

the idea is to help the teachers

with a fresh look at a literacy programme
set up reading corners

donate books & teaching aides
help demonstrate with the students the 'how'
of using some of these new resources

& we'd like to give a little gift to the children that Lawamena sponsor

along with taking them some stationary items
i had the idea to make a whole lot of pencil rolls

so i've got a little group of girls

helping me out tonight
to make

22 pencil rolls

(if you're at all moved by this you'd be welcome to donate or contribute in some way!?)

hint hint ... we actually need the pencils to fill these ... xxoo

 

i'm excited!

so

here's what we're making & how

i'm also thinking of making versions of these for

the various markets i'm heading off to ...

i've had a good read on a few blogs & taken in the 

instructions written by a friend ... on how to make a pencil roll

i've come up with my own version that suits this venture

here it is

if you make one please leave me a message & send me a pic

would love to see ...

PENCIL ROLL

cut x1 outer fabric piece 9 inches by 14.5 inches

cut x1 sandwich layer fabric piece 9 inches by 14.5 inches

cut x1 inner/lining fabric piece 9 inches by 14.5 inches

cut x1 pocket fabric piece 4 inches by 14.5 inches

cut & press x1 WOF width of fabric 2 inch binding

some of these fabric choices could be the same but here you will note mine are all different

& i also made the outer piece by piecing two fabrics together purely for interest sake!

note the thrifty batik style fabric used

told you there'd be a whole other post on that!!

guessing you've worked out the Ambon, Indonesian batik link there!

 STEP 1:

sew some of the binding onto the top edge

of the pocket fabric piece & press

this of course neatens the raw edge & strengthens the pocket

 STEP 2:

assemble sandwich layer fabric

(treat the sandwich layer as if its wadding 

but i think wadding makes it too chunky)

then inner/lining fabric

and then pocket section

all lined up square at the bottom edge

pin in position

mark out 1 inch lines with a fabric washable marker pen
(or tailors chalk if you have a darker fabric!)

 you should have 12 pencil pockets

as a result but measure carefully ...

to do this mark the first line 1 inch from the side edge
& continue all along ... maybe on the skimpy side of 1 inch to be sure

then sew

 quilting stitches through all layers along these lines

from edge to edge

this holds all the layers together neatly

& your back stitching will be hidden in the next seam

 STEP 3:

 use remaining section of 2 inch binding

by folding over & sewing down the length of the binding

to create a ribbon/ tie

STEP 4:

assemble the pocket, lining layer with

RSF right side facing

the outer fabric piece

pin in position

include the binding tie by folding it in half

then pin in between the RSF layers

i have pinned mine to line up neatly with the

binding on the edge of the pocket

tuck the length of the binding tie neatly insides the layers

 STEP 5:

as now you sew all around the rectangle

leaving a 3 inch gap at the top
when you get to the spot where the binding tie is
give it a few back stitches to strengthen

be careful not to catch the binding tie in the stitching

 STEP 6:

 trim the corners

turn out the right way

poke out the corners neatly

press well including tucking under the gap seams

then top stitch all the way around

trim any loose threads

 to finish

fill with 12 different coloured pencils

or 

grey leads of varying softness

or 

pens

or 

crayons

or

twistables etc

you can always alter the height measurement

for short or taller items!!

 roll it up

tie it proudly

its ready to create a masterpiece ...

enJOY

the humble pencil

never under estimate

the simple things

this is awesome

thrifty treasures

the thrill of the hunt

love it

& when i find such wonderful treasures

gives me such a great buzz

little burnt orange red chair 

will find a new life as a 'prop' ... with me

it may well feature again someday on this here blog of mine

found at a garage sale $1 ... seriously

i couldn't walk away from it

also went on a little op shop tour

thanks for your company girls

some of this was picked up on our 'tour'

some on my own the week before last

fab retro dinner plate - destined for our cabin

turquoise flower plate ... matches some japanese ceramics i already love

fun snail-y teapot will become 'the' studio teapot

awesome chunky metal bangles that i've worn twice already

earings in one of my favourite colourways

& an oh so lovely little lacquer style green & black trinket box

i had other intentions for this box when i picked it up 

but it goes so very nicely with the green tiles around our fireplace

now its a keeper

& the fabric ...

well ... let me tell you i have a whole other post to write about there!

stay tuned for that one!

its all got a real asian kind of look hey

well i do like a bit of asian styling!

happy happy thrifting

joining in over here

at

MAKE GROW THRIFT

with the Haby Goddess

hooked on a whale

on Oscar's bag hook at kinder
he has a picture of a

whale

 another child has a dolphin on theirs

so we have been having lots of chats

about the differences!
he's been a bit confused

found some great whale pics

but my favourite is this

made by the very clever
mevrouw of
valaan villapaita
whom i have asked permission to use this photo
of her gorgeous work ...
also love her header
i so wish i could read about it all ...i adore this whale softie
oooh ohh ooo
just found this one made by her as well ...
adore
 
... also while 'talking' whale & dolphin differences
we've been reading:

i love usborne books ...

we love this book