Day 25 Blogtoberfest - My Creative Space

Even though I had a million other things to do (read should be doing) this week I indulged in a bit of Christmas crafting.

 

 

I shared a sneak peek earlier, but now I've done more and taken pics in better light:) They are Australian animal shaped Christmas ornaments!

This is an idea that's been in my head for 3 years. How do I know its been 3 years? Well, I had the idea right before we last went to the US and that was 3 years ago this Christmas. You see, I thought my idea might make a nice project for the children, something they could give Grandma, Auntie etc....

Only the project never happened, too much going on, children weren't interested. Honestly I don't remember why, I just know the idea never came to fruition.

So skip to this past Sunday. Looking for something to keep middle busy. We are going overseas again, so I thought they might make good presents (sound familiar). This time middle was interested so project was a go, despite a million other things I should have been doing.

I found the shapes many moons ago at Kaisercraft, some traditional Christmas shapes and some Australian animal shapes. It was the Australian animal shapes I was most interested in. In my quest for creating Australian themed craft activities I thought the idea of combining Australian animal shapes and Christmas themed papers was genius. Well, in my head at least. That is until now:)

I painted the edges, cut and glued the paper on both sides and voila, Christmas ornaments. Simple, no? And now that I have made them, yes, I do believe they are genius:) I even went out and got more shapes to make:)

I hope you are bringing genius ideas to fruition in your creative space:) For more spaces and inspiration this week, be sure to check out My Creative Spaces. Cyndy

PS Be sure to also check out the My Creative Space challenge for November! Pin It

Day 21 Blogtoberfest - A Koala Christmas

Not that I don't have enough to do, but today I decided to work on a few Christmas ornaments (that's right, I said the dreaded C word).

 

I've had the idea for this ornament in my head for about 3 years. And a simple idea it is: Australian wooden animal shapes covered with Christmas themed papers.

I still need to punch the hole at the top and add ribbon, but hopefully you get the idea:)

Originally I thought the children could make these for my family who live overseas. They still could, if I hadn't used all the Australian animal shapes:)

Have you started any Christmas projects or gifts for friends or relatives yet? Cyndy Pin It

Day 7 Blogtoberfest - Paper Buntings and Garlands

Pretty much every time I am in an op shop I bring home a book (or two or three:). Sometimes for the story, but mostly for the illustrations.

Many books are hidden works of art, particularly children's books. Many are also damaged. Despite the damage I figure something can be done with them. Magnets, brooches and cards are just a few of the things I have made with illustrations from books. And bunting and garlands, of course:)

I have several in progress right now including a 1970's version of Blinky Bill bunting:

And a Bananas in Pajamas garland:

Now I will admit, it is hard to cut into a book, even a damaged book, but in the long run I figure it's better to cut and create something that will be used then for the book to end up pulped or in a landfill.

Have you ever used illustrations from books? What have you made? Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space

This week the children are on school holiday. I can't believe how fast the term went! I think littlest going to kinder was the accelerator - there was so much more to do and more of a schedule for me.

In contrast to the craziness of term one, so far the school holiday has been about doing nothing. Yes, that is right, NOTHING. Nothing scheduled, no where we have to be and I am loving it!

I am, however, using this time to plan birthdays. Littlest and middle are both April babies. Middle wants a craft party (hmm, wonder where she gets that from:) and littlest wants a princess party. I have middle's birthday gifts all sorted, but do have some work to do for littlest. My plan had been a doll's house, but with only two weeks to go not sure that is going to happen. I do have some new clothes for Miss Polly in process and I think there might be a winter skirt or two that gets done.

And then there is Easter. Usually I am quite prepared, but this year it has snuck up on me. Sadly, I haven't been able to find any white eggs so no egg dying:( We also make Easter cookies, but we probably won't do until Easter Monday. I haven't even put up the Easter decorations! Yes, I really am slacking! Today, today I promise:)

In anticipation of putting up the Easter decorations today I made an Easter bunting from vintage children's books last night.

Over the last couple of weeks I picked up a few Little Golden Books featuring bunnies with the idea of making an Easter bunting from them (I don't think I paid more than fifty cents for a book).

It was pretty simply; I pulled out the pages with nice pictures, traced the bunting shape on them and cut them out.

I then folded the top of each flag over paper twine and glued them down to string them together.

It's bunnies, not Easter per se, but I think it will add a little Easter flair to the house:)

I hope you are getting lots done in your creative space this week or you can visit Our Creative Spaces to get inspiration from others:) Happy Easter, Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space...

It's the second week of the school holidays and the demands have definitely caught up with me! Unfortunately, I haven't been as productive as I would like, especially in light of the fact that I have my first market coming up in less than a month!

I have, however, managed to work on a few note cards. In August I made some Sydney Favourite Places note cards for my partner in the Seaweed and Raine Sunshine in the Mail Swap (to see some of the other fabulous swap items made by the various participants you can visit here). I made them using a 1970's book written for children on New South Wales (NSW). I love the colours, the kitschy illustrations, and the facts about places in the book.

The book on NSW was one of a set, and yes, I managed to score one on each state:) How cool is that? This week I decided to make similar note cards to the NSW ones from the book on Victoria. It was actually quite hard; there are illustrations and facts on the front and back of each page so I could only pick one from each page. In some cases I went for colour (like the Moomba one), in other case I went for famous places (like the MCG one). Not surprisingly most of the places featured in the book were in Melbourne. There was one poor little page about Geelong, but the illustration was all gray and it talked about the industrial/port side of Geelong. Not terribly interesting card making material:(

Like the Sydney note card set, I love the way these have turned out so far. I still have a few more to make, but I have encountered the classic "running out of materials while in the middle of a project" problem and need to get some more card stock so that I can finish them off. As a result, this project will probably be in the "in progress" pile for a little while.

I hope you are getting more done in your creative space than I am this week! For more lovely spaces you can visit here. Cyndy

PS For all you footy fans I thought I would share some gratuitous pics from the parade yesterday in Geelong to celebrate our third Premiership in 5 years:)

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My First Crafty Swap - My Sunshine in the Mail

It's a little bit late, but I am finally sharing what I received in my first crafty swap, the Snail Mail Swap organized by Sheree at Seaweed and Raine earlier this month (you can see some of what I sent to my swap partner here and here).

Per Sheree's hope, it really was a little bit of sunshine in the mail! I received my swap from Christie at Describe Happy. Christie lives in the US, so it was not just mail, but INTERNATIONAL mail - loved that!

The day the package arrived was a cloudy day and as soon as my children saw a package in the mailbox they tried to claim it as their own. As soon as I saw it I disabused them of this notion, and claimed it for my own. I did let them help me open it:)

Christie had done a little tease post, but I resisted the temptation of looking. I wanted it to truly be a surprise, and what a I lovely surprise it was! Christie had definitely been sussing me out. The package included all sorts of little goodies: fabric, origami paper, cheeky birdie labels, a beautiful jade bracelet and some origami corner book marks. The piece de resistance however, was this fab zipper pouch:

How cute is that?! And how perfect for me - wombats on one side and that gorgeous koala fabric on the other. There are several handy little compartments inside as well:)

I have already been enjoying some of my goodies, although I have had to fend off my oldest daughter (age 7) who really wants the jade bracelet and the origami paper:)

A BIG, BIG thank you to Sheree for organizing it all and to Christie for her package of goodies! It really was a little package of sunshine in the mail:) Cyndy

PS if you haven't done a crafty swap you should - I had so much fun giving and receiving:) Pin It

My First Crafty Swap - Favorite Sydney Places Notecards

In August I participated in my first crafty swap, the Snail Mail Swap hosted by the lovely Sheree at Seaweed and Raine. The premise of the swap was pretty simple: to send someone "Sunshine in the Mail" because everyone likes getting real mail (not those yucky bills or junk mail) by September 1.

Now that my package has been received by Terese from Designed To a T I thought I would share one of the items in her package I had fun making. If you saw my teaser post earlier you probably noted and were confused by the picture of the book Know Australia: New South Wales.

One thing I learned about Terese is that she lives in the Sydney area - when I first came to Australia 20 years ago I lived in Sydney and I loved it! It really is one of my favorite cities in the world (although I have definitely developed an appreciation for Melbourne after living nearby for the last 4 years, is that diplomatic or what:)

The book was from the 1970's and contained some lovely drawings and fun facts about places of interest in New South Wales, including many in Sydney. I loved the drawings, but thought the facts were fun too, so I tried to create something that would use both. The result were these note cards featuring some of my favorite places in Sydney including the Opera House....

the Sydney Harbour Bridge...



the Rocks...

the beaches (Manly is probably my fav)...



and the Taronga Zoo (best view of Sydney in my opinion)...



I do love how they turned out and was a little sad to give them away, but I did make them for Terese:)The good news is that I have similar books on all the other states, so I think there may be some more cards coming! Cyndy

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My First Crafty Swap

I am participating in my first crafty swap, the Snail Mail Swap hosted by Seaweed and Raine. The idea is to send someone "Sunshine in the Mail" because everyone likes getting real mail (not those yucky bills or junk mail). There are five options of what you can include in your package:

• stationary OR  note cards with envelopes
• a handmade postcard
• something you have made
• something that makes you think of Spring
• a surprise for your partner

You need to choose at least three. I have been studying my swap partner's (it's a blind swap so while I will be sending to one person, I will be receiving from another person) blogs for ideas of what to send.

I don't want to reveal too much yet, but above is some of what went into the items she is receiving. Will do a full reveal after I send my package later this week. They are supposed to receive their package before September 1. Yes, I am waiting until the last minute to send:) Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space

With the children back at school, I have finally finished all the thank you gifts (including packaging them up nicely) for the parents who helped plan our school fundraiser (a Trivia Night and Auction) at the end of last month.

I shared an in process version of the thank you gifts here, but now I have added the days of the week to the pegs. I did this by printing the days of the week on colored vellum paper which I glued on top of the patterned paper I had already placed on each peg. For the magnets on the back I used the magnet tape you can buy at any craft store or even $2 shop. The one I bought was wider than my pegs, so I simply cut it in half. Each peg can hold about 8 sheets of paper. I originally planned to make each set all one paper/color, but when I finished them I decided it was cuter and more versatile to mix up the sets so that each was made up of different papers/colors.

We are having a meeting tomorrow where we will debrief the event so it will be the perfect time to express my thanks to everyone:) I hope they like them and know they are appreciated!

For more creative spaces this week you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space

This really isn't about my creative space this week, it's about my oldest daughter's (age 7). This is the second week of the school holidays here in Victoria. Pretty much every day her first question is "what can I make?" So far this week she has made a canvas picture, felt sushi, a button hair clip, an artist palette brooch and a decorated T-shirt. Yes, she exhausts me:)

Hope you are getting lots done in your creative space this week. You can see more creative spaces here. Cyndy

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My Creative Space...

This week I decided I needed to make a few thank you gifts for the parent's that worked extra hard on our school fundraiser this past weekend - thank you's are so important!

I remembered some cute day of the week clothespeg magnets I had seen  here and decided I would try to make my own. So far I have covered one side of my pegs with scrapbooking paper. I am till working on the days of the week part:)

Hope you are getting lots done in your creative space. For more creative spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space

The first part of the week I was frantically trying to finish my hottie for the Hottie Challenge organised by Cam at CurlyPops. I finally finished it and sent it off Tuesday afternoon - you can see how it turned out here!

Now I am frantically working on last minute details for the fundraising event (a Trivia Night and Auction) at my children's school which will be held this Saturday. My oldest daughter (age 7) helped decorate these "mystery" envelopes we sell at the event. There is a bit of a circus theme, hence the envelope decorations. My daughter did the circus drawings. I then made the labels and little circus tents. I think they look pretty cute:)

Now on to the bid sheets for the auction...

Hope you are getting lots done in your creative space. For more creative spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space...

So, I have a bit of a thing for books. There I said it. Really, I am a self confessed bookaholic. I LOVE books. I have always been a reader and hoarder owner of books. When growing up, during the summers I used to spend all day reading in bed. It's such a simple pleasure. True, it's hard to do now that I have young children, but I do try to carve out some reading time in bed on a Sunday morning (no doubt with one or two of the children bouncing in the bed next to me:)

Reading isn't the only great thing about books. I also love the art, especially in children's books. I love browsing through the children's books in the op shop. If you have children you probably know that some books become very "loved"; pages get ripped, drawn on or even get food/juice spilled on them - I am sure you know what I mean.

I hate to see these books go to waste, especially if they have beautiful illustrations. The cards and envelopes I made are from one such book I found at the op shop. Some of the pages were loose and had water damage, but the illustrations were gorgeous! How could you not love May Gibbs' illustrations of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie no matter what condition? It took me awhile (again, even a damaged book is hard for me to cut up), but I finally decided to make some cards and lined envelopes from the illustrations. I love them! Now just to decide who to send them to!

Hope you week has been creative, for more creative spaces this week you can visit here. Cyndy

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Little Golden Book Horses Paper Garland

Finished the paper garland I was making from the Little Golden Book Horses - hooray! It's a gift for my oldest daughter's best friend who is absolutely horse crazy. I hope she likes it. Still need to help my daughter finish the "I love horses" sign this afternoon:) Cyndy Pin It

My Creative Space...

Next week is my oldest daughter's (age 7) best friend's birthday. As a regular op shop visitor, I had found a Little Golden Book about horses with lovely illustrations in it some time ago. I scooped it up thinking I might make something from it for my daughter's best friend who is horse crazy. As with many of my purchases I wasn't sure what I would make, but I knew that would come to me when the time was right.

After procrastinating as long as I could (I actually have a hard time cutting up books), I finally settled on making a paper garland for her bedroom from the book. I started working on it yesterday. When my daughter came home from school she saw some of the shapes I had punched out and said "Mum, I know what I want to make for Bridgette for her birthday, one of those banners like you made for Aunt Tanya." Clearly great minds think alike:) I was able to tell her that was exactly what I was making. She still wanted to make something herself for her friend, so we have come up with an "I love horse" collage/sign she is going to make using some of the leftover illustrations from the book.

I hope you are getting lots done in your creative space today. I am feeling the effects of my first cold of the season, so might not get as much done today as I had hoped! For more creative spaces you can visit here. Cyndy Pin It