Library bags and a CD case for me

Last night I decided to whip up a library bag for my son using an old tea towel and scrap yellow fabric and a library bag for my daughter's friend (who wanted a "special one that you can't buy from the shops") using an old pillow case.



I LOVED my son's library bag and I did ask him after I had finished it if I could have it instead and I'll make him another one...but he wouldn't give it up. *sigh* So now I'm on the lookout for an old tea towel so I can make myself a bag (ONC'ers if you see one in an op shop somewhere, let me know!!).

I gave my daughter's friend her library bag today and she loved it so that made me happy.

Also, since I enjoyed making the concert journal so much, I decided to make a modified verson for me (just as a straight out CD case) for the car. Here it is:

The original 45 inside...

As you guys can see, I'm on a bit of a crafting/sewing spree at the moment. I am a bit stressed at work (deadline coming up) and crafting/sewing is relaxing me. So until mid-March, expect more crafting stuff from me!! :)

oh and on that note, Em asked me in my last post (or was it the one before?) how I find the time to do things. Well, the short answer is that I have the time because I consider crafting/sewing a very high priority. (And the long answer is in my post about it on Simple Green Frugal Co-op.) :P

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

a concert journal

I just realised that for those who get to my blog via my Twitter or Facebook updates might think I'm showing off *my* concert journal... well, I'm not. What's more, I haven't been to a concert for a long loong time (I am having fantasies of going to see Pink later this year but I just don't think its going to happen). This post is actually about an upcycling project I've done.

Anyway, this is a gift for a 16 yr old girl. Its a concert journal. It was around that age that I started to go to concerts with friends and I used to keep my tickets/tapes etc all together in a little case (I grew up in the days of the walkman and I used to carry a little case around for my tapes). Anyway, so I thought she might like a journal to keep all of her CDs and concert tickets.

I bought a whole heap of old 45s (you know, vinyl singles) from the YMCA Garage sale this weekend ($2.50 for 8), and an old music book from the Trash and Treasure markets and here's result for this one:

CD on one side, concert tickets and various concert-related stuff on the other. She can write in between the lines of the music re: details about the concert, when she attended etc.

On the back page, the original vinyl 45. :)

Anyway, I'm really really hoping she likes it. Everyone tells me that teens prefer to be given money but I hope that this is unique enough (and cool enough) for her to like it.

I really enjoyed this project and I think I might make more if she likes this one. In the meantime, I would love to hear what everyone has made for teenagers!!

finally I made something for my son

Since I've started sewing, I have found that I am easily inspired to sew something for my daughter... for my son its another story. There are only so many shorts, aprons, pants I can make him, you know? Do other mothers encounter this problem? I have to say, I have totally avoided making him tops because.... well, they are really hard to make, and I haven't been able to make him one successfully (even the Wiggles top I made him is pretty badly sewn even by my own very low standards - thank goodness he likes it anyway).

ooops I've digressed.

So anyway, I thought I'd make him a pair of shorts and applique the same fabric on a plain yellow shirt he had...incidentally the applique is covering up a stain that no amount of soaking seems to move.

Here it is!

(this is his "serious" face)

I sewed the shorts using this tutorial. I didn't cut open an old pair of shorts, I just folded the fabric and folded the shorts in half and cut the fabric following the line of the folded shorts.... hmmm.... clear as mud? Or does everyone understand that?

Hope everyone is having a great day! What are you sewing at the moment?

How did she do this?

I was reading the local news this morning and came across this article about the Australian War Memorial asking people for help to identify a WWI love letter.

So I click on the link to look at the love letter and saw this:



OH MY GOODNESS!! So the unidentified woman (she had signed the letter "your little sweetheart") had cut and decorated the paper... but what I want to know is, *how did she cut it to look like that?*

The paper-crafter inside me wants to know how....

dressing up :)

Last weekend, I went to the ONC's quarterly handmade markets with my friend JustJess of button beauty fame. Were you there? As I stood there in sweltering 40 degree heat, I overheard someone say "I brought my camera so I can blog about this." I turned around but couldn't find the speaker... was it you? If so, then know that I immediately wished I had my camera too so I could blog as well. Perhaps next time we can do a Handmade Market blog wrap-up? Ah well, just a thought.

I LOVED the markets. It was my first time to go and I was just in awe of the hundreds of beautiful things I found there. Anyway, I thought I'd show off some of the stuff I bought... First up:



A pair of earrings from Liz Knox's Origami Creations (the earrings are made from origami paper and dipped in lacquer). Okay, sorry for the crap photo - its night time and hanging them from the lampshade is the best I can do. Please click on Lisa's etsy shop to see how truly beautiful her creations are.

Then I truly splurged and bought myself this dress and cardigan:



The pic does not do this dress justice. (Plus I always feel awkward posing for pics). Its from Gida of Gida Natural Designs and its made of *reclaimed yarn cotton*. The fabric is soooo soft and comfortable. I am so glad I treated myself to buying it.

After going through stall after stall of beautiful handmade things, I walked away feeling very very inspired and, despite the heat, reclaimed my sewing mojo!

So this was what I whipped up (no pattern again, but its basically just a circle skirt and a top joined together):



The bodice followed pretty much the same shape as the red dress I had made for my daughter before, but this time I decided not to sew the straps to the back and instead tie it up halter neck style. Glad to say it fit her beautifully.

Its made from 2 layers of very thin fabric - a yellow gauzy/drapy/see-through print top layer (I really need to start remembering what fabric types are called) and a thin plain yellow inner layer. The 2 together looked great. It also wasn't as hard to sew the gauzy fabric as I thought it would.

Oh and here it is again in twirly action:



Anyway, that's it for me now. Hope you are all having a wonderful time!!

Oh and weather update...we've experienced a cool change now and the weather has dropped about 20 degrees!! This afternoon at 5 pm, the temp was 16 degrees - that's 61 degrees farenheit! Unbelievable that it can go from 40 to 16 in only a few days!! How are people's vege gardens doing in this weather?

ETA: for those who want gardening tips, there have been a lot of tips lately on SFG (the other blog that I write in). Oh and I've written yet another post on children and consumerism there too. Wishing everyone well!

Busfires...and while you're at Coles this Friday...

Everyone in Australia is in mourning for the hundreds of people killed in the 2009 bushfires. Here at the ONC, there are many who can empathise with those who have lost their homes. Only 6 years ago, ONC'ers also experienced the shock of bushfire invading our city. Then, the fires had come close to my house (we were one of the lucky ones - our house survived). To this day, I get very nervous when I see smoke haze.

While I have to admit, I feel a bit uncomfortable with some of the more invasive media covering the bushfires in SA and VIC, I am glad that there is now a raised awareness of the devastating impact of bushfires. Only in the last 3 days, Australians have managed to raise $7 million dollars towards helping those affected by the fires. And its not over yet.

This Friday (13 Feb), Coles Supermarkets nationwide, in partnership with Red Cross Australia, will be donating all of their profits on that day towards the bushfires. I have already decided to change my weekly grocery day to Friday night at Coles.

If you do decide to go to Coles, you may want to check out many of the fairtrade products that Coles sells. I have commended Coles before in this blog for providing more fairtrade products than any other major supermarket. Perhaps you may want to try out Scarborough Fair chocolates?

Anyway, for those who want to donate directly, Red Cross Australia and the Australian Salvation Army have secure online facilities for easy donation. Please be careful when donating, as there are currently a few scammers out there who are taking advantage of the situation and just scamming people out of their money.

its too damn hot...simple ways to get cool?

Today, I am soooo glad that we have evaporative cooling. The forecasted temp tomorrow is 40 degrees celsius (104 degrees Farenheit)! Eek. Check out this screen shot from abc.net.au of the forecasted weather tomorrow:


This heatwave is starting to get to me... the lack of sleep at night ('cause its too hot), the feeling that I am slowly roasting when I step outside, bleugh..

So while we've been coping by either just staying at home or going to the various water holes in the ONC. BUT after almost 2 weeks of high temps, I have to admit I get a bit bored - there is only so much you can do sitting at home or in water. So I'm remembering what we used to do back in the days before we got evap cooling. I remember:

• just carrying a spray bottle of water and spritzing yourself with it, and
  
• drinking lots and lots of water that had previously been half frozen (thanks to those who commented on my last post to remind me of this.

Of course, all this does depend on using a lot more water than before - again a scarce resource around here.

In the last 2 weeks, I heard on the news that people are dying, tram trucks buckling, and power failing due to overloaded systems. It worries me that they say that things will only get worse in the future.

And while we are roasting here in south Oz, the north is flooded. Climate change... who says it isn't happening?

HOT!!! Need ideas for cool lunch and snacks for the kids

The last few days here at the ONC have been HOT! Temps have reached up to 39 degrees Celsius (about 102 degrees Farenheit). The temps have been enough to pretty much stop me from sewing (and just after I found my sewing mojo too!) and just spend most of my time at the pools and various water holes surrounding the ONC.

I shouldn't complain though - the people in SA and VIC have been experiencing worse temps - to the point where tram tracks are buckling and losing power.

The children started back at school today and for the first time I've found myself wondering what to do with the kids lunches. I sent them in today with the standard crab sandwiches, cheese and rice cakes.

I've wondered about sending them in with something frozen that they can then have, but the children hate having everything in their lunches go soggy from the condensation.

What do other people do? What cool lunches and snacks do you pack on days like this?