party like a parrot & be a cool cat

yes the animals all partied!

there was puppy popcorn & hot dogs

dog biscuits

and pin-the-bow-on-the-kitty-cat

doggy bingo

cat cookies

musical critters

& puppy cake pops

oh & the most stunning rainbow pets paradise 

birthday cake!!

well done super mum!!

all to celebrate a young lady's 5th Birthday

hope you had a fabulous day Miss G & we're so glad you love 'Jess'

it was dress up time of course...

process went something like this:

me: "What would you like to dress up as Oscar?"

O: "a dog"

me: "excellent .....

so we go shopping for a hoodie for my usual costume conversion trick!

was thinking a 'dog' type colour

hmmm .... boys colours are so boring!

so we scanned the girls' section ....

the choice was made - turquoise

me: "Oscar, are you sure you would like to be a 'green' dog?"

O: "Yes I want to be green!"

me: "ok then .... " nothing like a challenge!

later ..... me: "how about being a green frog?"
O: "No, I don't like frogs!"

later .....

me: "How about being a green bird??" 

O: " ooooh yes I want to be a green PARROT!"

me: " awesome!!" 

(thought to myself ... whew! 

... worked out it was just all about being green!

have i brainwashed my child???)

so set about collecting as many green, aqua & turquoise 

fabric scraps

 cut a few 'feather' shapes & a couple of wings & tail

randomly placed & pinned & stitched rows of 'feathers'

 sliced the hoodie in the appropriate places

have got to mention that the inside out, right sides facing

encasing wings thing was actually a little tricky

but it worked yay!

sew in wings & tail feather

add a few details, a beak & eyes

go on .... fly little green parrot, be free!

and party like its 1999

shake that tail feather

he loved it!& i love it .....

what a fabulous party

lovely time in our 'village'

penguin parade

lovely time at Phillip Island

last week with friends

one chilly evening spent

waiting & watching for the little penguins

sensational

just pretending for a moment that i am
andy warhol ....

little bit of green love .....

well there may have been some 'partying' about these parts

a detailed post will come soon

but

thought i'd sneak in first with my

mother-of-the-birthday-boy skirt!

its a 'key' outfit to be noted on the day - but of course!!

there was some kind of topical green theme

going on ....

check out the most amazing gorgeous green dress

made by my very talented friend for her smallest

..... cool huh!

 so on the green theme & riding my recently re-ignited inspiration

for making clothes for myself .... & having just completely

re-sorted my entire fabric stash

... well there was this green cord that i have been hoarding

for longer than i care to admit ....

not enough for the entire skirt ..... but

 i do love a spot of problem solving

... bring on a great graphic b&w contrast panel & some black denim

there you go .... & 'had' to be finished all before church yesterday

as it was the plan to wear it ... yep

 .... um, might have been a few mins late!

another of Nikki's A line skirts ...

it sits nicely on me & i like the cut

& my invisible zipper was almost invisible!!

oh .... and

do you like the way those sneaky numbers smuggled their way into the facing??

bit of fun ... just for me to see ... but shhhh now you know too!!

day of colour

was your day filled with colour?

its "international day of colour"!

 what's your favourite?

mine is blue + yellow

did you work that one out?

there is a clear winner going on in my life

has been for a 'while' ....

somehow i just gravitate towards .....

... green

celebrate the 31

where did 31 days go?

how great it is to look back & see!

 today was all

squiggle drawings &

fresh & silky home made green play dough

isabella @ play group discovering 

that you make a fabric impression in play dough!!

look carefully at the front panel of her dress ... snap

playing postman

running through the sprinkler with a certain little friend

& squirting each other with a hose ... yay for simpler water restrictions!

& buzzing bees ...

sneezing & more sneezing ... tis the season!

planning & ideas

looking back on the last 31 days

... yes there are 31 posts 

... not quite all posted one per day but pretty close!

yay for blogtoberfest!

pop up shop book fare ...

i have some great gift ideas for you!

sweet little fabric covered notebooks 

.... handmade with modern crochet or patchwork embellishments

funky lining fabrics ....

i love note books - i use them to keep records of all sorts of things

 & also .... lots of great little one-of-a-kind

photo albums .... you know ... the "brag book" kind

fill them up with pics of family or a fav weekend or a special event

yep ... great gift ideas ... 

all ready for the Polly Pratt & Friends .... Open Studio Pop Up Shop

on this saturday ...

 i adore green

spotted this while i was about town today ...

you see when i was much younger i also had a thing for rhinos ...

... so this amazing street art i find quite appealing

wishing i could credit the artist right now ...

stunning isn't it ...

happy day 22 

of blogtoberfest to you!

You Sew Girl! Chunky Purse day ...

  had a simply wonderful day

arrived back home last night

to attended a planned workshop today

loved every minute

thankyou to the incredibly talented & knowledgable

Nicole Mallalieu

had the complete pleasure

in making Nicole's

Chunky Purse Design

love it ... it most certainly is chunky

it will hold a whole bunch of precious goodies

learnt lots of hints & tricks

& I might just try this 

using a pattern thing more oftern

 oh & my side by side studio work buddy was a new-to-me ... Karen 

"v nice to meet you Karen!"

here are our results lined up next to each other

Karen made the 150mm Purse ... we were very proud of these

... our fearless leader stepped us through her very clearly designed pattern

now ... on to try another design & step up the tricky factor ...

 .... did you notice its green!

i love green ....

day 9 of 12: the making & giving

i've written this post for all people who make & create personalised items to be intended as gifts:

.... you will relate to me on this today i am sure!

if you are someone in my life to whom i have given a handmade gift there is no need to be offended by these comments ... be complimented that i love you to give you something that i have spent time making just for you!!

i have made many many gifts for people over the years

in fact i have a secret hope that on the day they all celebrate my life after i'm gone i hope

that they all bring along the things i've made 

& painted & sewn & pottered & designed & taught & crocheted & printed & framed & photographed & knitted & quilted & any combination of the above ...  & loved making... 

yes i have loved the creative process in every piece ...

i hope i'll be able to look down (?) & observe!! ...

(sorry not meaning to sound sombre but its the only time i can think that it would happen

i'm really not narcissistic!!)

i'm not sure however in the 'receiving' of gifts ...

if some of the 'intended recipients' have really understood what's involved 

in making a handmade personalised gift!!?? 

you see it needs to thought of as a gift in the first place ... 

then all options considered ...

then an item & design & pattern chosen to be 'perfect' for the intended ...

then the correct materials chosen & gathered ...

tools gathered & accessible ...

then the making ...

hands & heart at work ...

and the finishing ...

then it doesn't quite stop there :::

the maker holds their breath until a said 'look' of some sort of 'joy' is seen in the eyes of the 'intended' ...

its quite involved & the response by the 'intended' should be in line with their personality & be genuine & hopefully positive .... only thing is ... that many people don't quite get this as perhaps they have never really been involved themselves in hand made

& so i have learnt not to struggle with the seaming personal non-reaction but in some cases to simply not go back again to be wounded once more ...

... the making is so personal that to feel that its not been understood as a gift from the heart & perhaps seen as a cost saver (!!!!!?) is heart wrenching

...  j'adore heartfelt handmade gifts ... in fact i was spoilt rotten recently with some ....

this is a gorgeous purse / pouch made by the very talented Karen from And so, I sew ...

whom i have been getting to know & adore ... in person!

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Karen

 

i love this gift because i know she knows i love handmade & all my personal reasoning behind the why ... as well as they just simply make nicer gifts ... i love it because she has picked a favourite hue of greens ... & i'm not sure she quite knew at the time but i adore that fabric line too ...

i love it also because it was specially made just for me!

 as for intended use ... its now home to my growing collection of crochet hooks ... so i can take it places & others can admire & comment!!

here's another handmade gift ...
again green ... noticing a theme here?
people must know me huh!!
this one was made by one of my SIL's
she's rather clever with a crochet hook ...
these covered coins are USA currency all adding up to 40 cents in total ...
... a quarter & 2 nickels & 5 cents
appropriate & i love it

 these guys ... are going in those koala pouches shown yesterday .... they crept their way out of the scrap box & into my heart .... they should crawl into the hearts of some other little people ... & i've made Oscar another so he can join in all the creative play!!!




anyway when it comes down to it ... i love giving handmade ...

Green Bed Runner ... worked on @ SIT

...completed ...i worked on this at SIT ...
1,000's of tiny perle hand stitches
in lots of different green threads
that make a wonderful
tactile texture ...
i love this feeling
between my finger tips ...
...all bound up!
i LOVE green
with some favourite fabrics in there ...
in case you didn't know

... photographed right after I finished it ...
on mother's day morning before lunch ...
on the fabulous concrete floor
at my parents' new holiday place
... awesome light
& background texture!