tweet family painting fun:

Hello there friends,

Today we just wanted to share a fun little project we finally finished as a family here.

Taking our inspiration from a tweet mug a friend had given me.. we set off painting.

The kids love working on a 'mama project', and we all work alongside each other through each stage.

We used fabric to get the bird patter motifs in place.. but, I would recommend using scrapbook paper for anyone else out there - as it lays flat and wouldn't bubble up with the paint.

We added all the 'sand/grit' texture to try and camouflage a bit of that fabric blunder.

Most of my art comes from 'fixing' mistakes, actually.

Another creative and colourful addition to our nest here.

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o)

the making of Marigold:

It was a perfectly drizzly gray morning to whip up a sewing project today.

While the boys were out, and the babe slept... Azriel and I dove into my sewing corner and made this fun dolly.

The perks of being a 'craft hoarder' is that all you need is at your fingertips!

After a very fast sketch of what she wanted her doll to look like, I let her pick through my fabrics to decide which would *match* her drawing.

Obviously I did not have purple yarn on hand.. so she's an orange head. 

We've decided to call her Marigold.

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Sewing with kids is really frantic fun.  You can talk to them about the importance of "patience" and "hard work" to get a good result.  The joys of creating instead of buying toys.

You just need to let go of the quality control in favour of quality time with your kiddo.

I think she turned out pretty sweet for a couple hours of cutting/stuffing/sewing/painting.  It was getting tough to do the final stitches when Azriel just kept hugging me and squealing "Oh mama, she's just SOOOOOO beautiful!!!"

win. win. 

(And yes, I totally was thinking of this website while we brought her drawing to life!)

Have a creative day friends,

Mel ;o)

 

Finished projects!

**bunting makes this girl real happy!**

 So she sews still.

Surprise!

She, being me, that is.

The projects are few and far between at this stage of life... as you can imagine.

So when I do sew - it's mainly small manageable projects for home (or for gifts). 

Now I'm a firm believer that *bunting* makes any room better.

(Some call them flags, banners, pinnies... it's 'bunting' to me).

And I'm now one more room closer to the goal of: 'bunting.in.every.room.of.our.nest'.

A happy combination of my favourite things: turquoise, lime, paisley, damask... for our big front window.

Our oldest daughter has inherited my aesthetic side, and squealed when she saw it hanging:

"Ohhhhh thank you for sewing those decorations mama,

it makes me soooo nice!"

Win, win.

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Annnnnnd, in other sewing news: I recently made this tweet lil' hoot for a friend and her newest addition in their nest!

 

Features: turquoise vinyls, leather beak, wooden button eyes and fabric/felt body and wings.

What about you crafty friends?

Any projects you've managed to make lately?

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o)

make.over

New tights.

New hair.

Closet purging.
Crafty planning.

What inspires a re-do or makeover in your life?
I usually have a post-pregnancy rebound where I want to purge.all.the.frumpy.clothes, dye my hair (and resist chopping it - since I *may* still be growing it longer) and reclaim all my weird and wacky styles of dressing (insert husband's groan here).

I guess it's part of the creative side wanting to 'vent' out again.
So yes, I got myself some silly funky tights.  Picked a very tame hair colour - reddish brown.  And attacked my closet with a purging fury.

Ok, I actually stink at purging.
Half my clothes wandered over to my 'fabric corner' to be used for future projects... lets keep that secret between us... shhhhhh.

Now clothing - as superficial as it is - is a funny bone of contention around here.
I've mentioned in the past my husband's dry witted attacks of my *style*.
So, while I like to dress as ridiculously as I have since I was five.. I still want to make the attempt to dress in a way that suits my love too.

Which is hard.
My eye seems drawn to every.thing he would find appalling.
"Ohhh... look - military coats!" I say.
He's not sure why I want to join the armed forces.

"Ohhh... lace, doilies... pretty pretty!" I say.
He's again confused why I want to wear a granny's tablecloth.

"Ohhh... denim shirts/chambray tops... me want!" I say.
"Are you a homeschooling frau?" he wonders.
 
The list goes on... as does his quips and retorts.

When I throw my hands up and say there's no other options left, he says he actually likes most of what I wear!  Huh?  Like I said, it's an endless cycle of amusement and silliness for us.
 -----------
Anyway, most of what I wear needs an overhaul right about now.
Everything is about two sizes too big, or too small.
I think this third baby hasn't let me 'bounce back' as quickly to my original size (or maybe it's the fistfuls of chocolate I consume?).
 ----------------------

And, spring, spring makes me want to purge!
To shake the moths out of my closet.
Maybe I should start some summer sewing.. of skirts.

I'll keep you posted on how that goes over with my man. ;o)

Thinking Spring, thinking fresh starts!
What are you purging or re-doing lately?

Mel ;o)

 
 
 

The craftiest time of the year!

It's that time of year.

Once the first dusting of snow hits the ground.. my brain turns into Santa's workshop, just busting with creative notions wanting to be made!

There's the homemade decor for the nest to be created with the kids.

The crafting of gifts for loved ones.

The making of goodies to sell at a craft show.

Just time... and energy, required.... yeah, those are rare commodities aren't they?

Needless to say I've dusted off my long neglected sewing machine and wedged my bulging belly into the crafting corner - a few hours here, a few moments there.

My wrist warmers (seen above) are all ready for our local FOCUS FAIR.

They sell out every year.. but I think I made enough for now. (I'll only be there for Sun.dec.8th).

Then, there's the labour of love creation for our daughter... a fabric mini play house.

I'm very loosely being inspired by the pattern from One Yard Wonders here.

You know I hate patterns.. and committing to a project that takes more than one sewing session... but, if it turns out - it should be cute!

I'm also needing to add a couple more stockings to the mantle (granted I'm all out of this tree fabric so I'll have to get creative).  The rest of my scheming and dreaming will take the back burner until I know there's an inch of time/energy left to throw their way.

What about you?

Crafting and creating and homemade goodness this season?  Do tell!

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o)

 

craft'spiration: The Quiet Time book.

Hello lovelies!

Today I have a beautiful example of crafting GENIUS to share with you guys... so as you can imagine ~ it was not created by me.  My super skilled seamstress pal Jackleen put this amazing 'Quiet Time Book' together for her wee kids... and I kind of wanted to keep it and play with it all myself.

Check out her mad skills for detail here:

 

A tree: every leaf flap lifts to reveal a special critter or stitched flower!  A tent: zips open with a funny critter to tuck into the sleeping bag.

 

 

Shoes: you can tie those laces repeatedly.  Car: finger puppet drivers to pull out on a string.

Balloons: snap on, snap off.  Rocket: slides up a ribbon to the planet.

Furry friends to chat with.

Peek-a-boo girl: magnets in hand/eyes!  Marble-maze: push a marble around the path.

I know right?!

I probably would have done one page and gotten overwhelmed.. but she whips off amazing creations all the time. (Yeah, including my wedding dress!).

Thanks for sharing your crafty inspiration here Jackie!

Hope you're all inspired,

mel ;o)

cool like that...

What rhymes with cool?

Fool.

 It's best not to take oneself to seriously.

Laugh at yourself... and let others do the same.

Those who tend to worry about being cool, look more the fool.

Those who confidently play the fool, are all the more cool.

Yeah, getting all Dr.Seuss on you up in here...

I've just been thinking about our kids, and the challenges of 'fitting in' and discovering their identities as they get older.

I want to see them shine.

Not try to dim their lights to go undetected by others,

or to blend in with the blur of the crowd.

I guess this is another example of learning to 'lead by example'.

How's my light shining?

a fool,

Mel ;o)

 

 

what's soft and prickly, and loved all over?

Well friends, we finally dusted off the sewing machine and made some fun here!

I haven't had the desire/energy/motivation to create for months now... so just doing this project on a whim was refreshing indeed.

 

 When daughter Azriel heard the machine start up she looked over with a big grin and asked: "what are you making me, mommy??!".  She then eagerly dove right in with helping me stuff little paws and feet...

 Voila, our furry little hedgehog/porcupine... thing!

(I'd link a pattern if there was one..but I just invented it).

 

The next morning Azi woke me up and whispered:

"WAKE up Mommy... we need to sew more porcupines!!"

She barely let me eat breakfast - slave master - and then we whipped up a few friends.

(Hudson's lil' blue guy became a mutant  bear thing.. since I flipped the face pieces upside down by mistake.. oops).  A fun lil' trio of furries for the kids here.

Have you been creating anything fun lately?

Happy long weekend all!

Mel ;o)

D.I.Y: embroidery hoop wall art.

Pretty simple right?

Just take a group of various sized embroidery hoops and stretch a colourful collection of fabrics over them all.

(As you can see.. I still have to glue the raw edges around the backs of the hoops.. oops!)

Then lay the hoops on the floor first to get a pleasing arrangement... or just keep filling the wall with nail holes, whatever your style is!

A fun punch of colour and pattern to any space.

Here's a couple other inspirations too... this and this! 

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For those of you wondering, we just created this play nook for the kids in the corner of our Living Room.  Yes, where the massive T.V stand used to be... what a great purge.

No more T.V, stereo, clutter, junk, stuff, etc!

Upon seeing this blank wall space I said to the hubs:

"I should fill that with fabric hoops"

To which he replied:

"Of course you should, heaven forbid there's an empty space for more than five minutes around here"!

 Oh, the dry wit... but really, he's a very patient 'minimalist' in light of my decor style.

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Hoop you have fun creating your own colourful corner!

Mel ;o)

more summer sewing:

Hello again lovelies!

Recently I've been working on a few more little sewing projects, and thought I would show you the random assortment today.

The last post I showed you had some fun summer skirts... and I'm still at it:

Navy + white striped jersey cotton.

Extra material run through the waistline as the belt ties.

Of course it's hard to see the shape of the skirt when you pose if front of a growing garden... duh.

 So yeah, here you can see better.. I did that beloved 'mullet' skirt style that I love seeing every where right now (short at the front, party at the back, right?).  Fun!

(Not so fun.. Mr.Hudson going for the power sockets and answering machine buttons behind me.. again).

 I whipped this cute 'flapper' hat up for our daughter since they seem to have already lost the previous ones I made for them last summer.

I followed a pattern, but extended the brim.. (doubled it really) so she'd have a lot of sun protection, and look like a cute pirate with the flap way up there. 

 My sis-in-law has her birthday the week before mine.. so I sewed her a fun crafting bag/purse.

It's made with upholstery canvas.  And while I tried to follow a pattern, I am convinced the instructions were wrong... and after trying to re-read them frontwards and back.. I just decided to 'wing' it and use my own favourite bag as inspiration!

 Leopard sparkle print infinity scarf.

Saw this material and totally thought of my blogger bud... since it's jersey cotton I opted to make a quick scarf.  Um, for the record I attempted a new approach... sewing up the opposite ends before the length, and ended up with this mutation:

 A super long tube sock instead of an infinity scarf?!!

It's all good.. I can still wear it... and hide when I need to as well.. raaawwwwwr.

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Sew there you have it.

Any creations you've been working on out there?

Happy tuesday, I'm off to work at my paint store!

Mel ;o)

sewing for summer!

 Phew!  Is it just me, or is it getting hot up in here..?

Ontario decided to make up for lost time, diving straight from an extended winter - to summer!  That's all well and good, except for the accompanying *meltdown* of wardrobe issues.

See, after a long hibernation of sedentary living + comfort baking = this mama bear has grown some 'muffin tops' and other such puffiness around the middle.

The notion of 'shoe-horning' myself into my shorts was getting enraging.

...

The solution was nonetheless humorous.

"I'll sew a new summer line of clothing!" says I.

(Visions of flowing, loose, Rita MacNeil-in-a-mu-mu, kind of options danced through my mind).

As I wadded the piles of fabric through the sewing machine... my man walks by,

"I'll call that the widow-maker" he says.

And like rams bashing skulls on the discovery channel, we've been hilariously debating what makes *good* summer attire ever since!

My 'loose and flowy' is his idea of a 'boat tarp'.

I just refuse to grease myself with butter to fit into an outfit.

....

Anyways... here's some of the pieces that I've created lately that we both like (miracle of miracles!):

 One yard of fabric.  Basic A-line skirt with a zipper at the hip.

I didn't even hem the bottom because I'm lazy I love the brown/white spots along the lower half...and the white ragged edge to set it off.

 Mmmm jersey cotton.

Guess where this skirt came from?  Yep, that old sewing fail... I just turned the shirt upside down and cut open the shoulders (removed the lace) and made a funky skirt!

(Yes, life is glamorous here...holding my big boy.. with a creepy Elmo balloon behind us!).

 Oooh, and lastly, here's a sweet simple sewing trick to give your belly/hips a break!

Insert thick elastic in the hip/pockets of your shorts/pants... and all those 'too-tight' pants will fit again!  (I covered white elastic with brown stretchy jersey cotton for those brown cords).

Now you can keep the thrill of maternity clothing with you forever.

I didn't wear a belt... just so you could get the full impact of this heavenly relief.

I may even go eat some more chocolate to celebrate! 

Sew there you have it friends.

Summery solutions and silliness.

Mel ;o)

couch recovery...

 ...so we're in that shabby-chic stage of home decor around this nest.

You know, when you can only afford shabby (second-hand, or *free*) furniture... and you attempt to make it look chic.  Yah, that.

We've been given a few different couches during our marriage.

Most were passed down from grandparents/parents...  so they are abundantly 'floral' in nature, and rather saggy centred.  You can guess how delighted I was to find two couch covers at a yard sale for $5!

At the time it was even a lucky strike that they matched our current wall colour - khaki olive taupe tone.

But then, recently this hit me:

 Every.thing.is.the.same.colour.here!!!

I bet you can't even see me, it's like couch camouflage.

To say I started hyperventilating may be a stretch... but I was totally weirded out that our living room seemed so monotonous.

Now, maybe I'm just craving the palette of Spring flowers, or something... but either way, I was instantly consumed with quilting a punch of colour into this space.

 I quickly set to work.

Chopping through various upholstery/vintage fabrics from that freshly organised sewing nook.

I made 4 rows of 6 squares if you're curious.

The fabric was cut to 8'x10' size roughly.

And, as with any sewing project - the cats were all over it.. geeeez.

 Along the way, daughter Azriel showed her delight saying:

"this is sooo beautiful mama, I need to do somersaults on it"!

Of course, the cats love it too.

As do I.  So I sewed up two!  Now both couches can feel bright and cheery.

(Especially since our ol' couch covers were starting to show every *stain* of child-rearing...ugh).

I still need to do some final stitching/embroidery to finish these off, but wanted to show you the funky project.  I've only ever made a tiny baby quilt before, so I never realised how fast it is to zip off rows of squares like this... fun, fun!

Have you made a quilt before?

Now to recover those throw pillows, hehe.

In colourful stitches,

Mel ;o)

here + there.

logs + laces.

wide open spaces.

savouring the scenery.

taking home the 'greenery' (pussy willows).

caught snuggling.

 again, that face.

fancy feathers + boot envy.

quilting + colour crushes!

Wow, already halfway through another week?!

I guess it's flying by because it's been full.

Full of nature walks in the sunshine.

Painting canvases during naptimes.

Visiting friends, doctors (for lil' Hudson - all good!) and family.

Quilting in every other spare moment. (more on that tomorrow).

Playing with the kids.

Washing the dishes...

...and all that jazz.

We truly are blessed.

Even in the trials - I see so much to be thankful for in these simple moments around our Nest.

I think Springtime is breathing some fresh life/hope in these parts.

How about you, ya sweet nutters.

How's your world spinning this week?

Mel ;o)