Hear ye, hear ye! “Once Upon A Time” exhibition and workshop event in Brisbane

A fairy tale exhibition, with 30 local artists is coming to Brisbane's West End. 

Illustrators, fibre artists, painters and sculptors will all exhibit and sell work with their unique interpretation of the fairy tale genre. 

The ten-day event will open on Friday 16th Aug from 6pm in aid of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. There is opportunity to enjoy an evening of wine, art and fairy tale magic; and let your creative juices flow in one of their fabulous workshops - suitable for children as well as adults. Click here for a list of all workshops.

Arzu of zuzu&me, a fibre artist and craft educator from the Sunshine Coast Steiner school ~ Noosa Pengari, is leading a class in how to make these beautiful floating fleece fairies or needle felted toadstools ~ but places are limited. please contact Arzu on zuzuandme@gmail.com. For a sneak preview of some of the pieces she is exhibiting, visit http://www.facebook.com/zuzuandme

 

See you there?

Little fox...

Once upon a time there were three little foxes
Who didn’t wear stockings, and they didn’t wear sockses,
But they all had handkerchiefs to blow their noses,
And they kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes.

And they lived in forest in three little houses,
And they didn’t wear coats, and they didn’t wear trousies.
They ran through the woods on their little bare tootsies,
And they played “Touch Last” with a family of mouses.

They didn’t go shopping in the High Street shopses,
But caught what they wanted in the woods and copses.
They all went fishing, and they caught three wormses,
They went out hunting, and they caught three wopses.

They went to a Fair, and they all won prizes –
Tree plum-puddingses and three mince-pieses.
They rode on elephants and swang on swingses,
And hit three coconuts at coconut shieses.

That’s all I know of three little foxes
Who kept their handkerchiefs in three little boxes.
They lived in the forest in three little houses,
But they didn’t wear coats and they didn’t wear trousies,
And they didn’t wear stockings and they didn’t wear sockses.

A. A. Milne
 

I've been knitting again. This time for Mrs Bloom who lives in a place where she really doesn't need such things but well.... it is cute, yes?

The pattern is the mini fox stole from the highly talented and whimsical Tiny Owl Knits

From little things...big things Bloom. Making Peg Dolls - the book tour continues!

This post brings me such delight. Two years ago, maybe a little more, I recieved a comment on this blog which read something along the lines of "I have an idea. Please email me". The author of that comment was Margaret Bloom of we bloom here, her idea was a swap, a peg doll swap. In the months that followed I made a firm and treasured friend and my house slowly but surely became home to dozens of tiny peg dolls...

In the years since, our family collection of tiny peg dolls has grown beyond the walls of the little doll house they first populated. They now peek out of bookshelves, stand tall on windowsills and dance upon tables. I find them in baskets and tiny boxes, in pockets and bags... in the bathroom and in beds. They never fail to make me smile.

And then, one day Margaret told me she was writing a book. A book to be filled with the little people and sprites, gnomes and creatures that were filling her house too! Over what felt like an eternity she fed me with little morsels and pictures that made me croon. I can't remember a time I was so restless with anticipation.

From the very beginning my favourite was the Michaelmas dragon; I can't explain why but I LOVE it. For me there was no question, it was going to be the first doll I made when I had my hands on the book.

And then it arrived :) The book feels great in my hands. It is weighty and bursting with colour and cuteness! There are step by step instructions to make over 60 different dolls - dolls for every season, dolls for festivals, story telling and sheer sweetness. Patterns made to follow exactly or inspire new ideas. Doodle pages and painting tips, snippets of stories to make you want to read more. All things to make you smile.

I am so gratified to be part of Margaret's Making Peg Dolls blog tour (tho it is very likely I would have sulked and refused to answer emails if she had not invited me). I hope to do her creativity and cleverness credit with this little story crafted from a few wooden peg dolls, a bit of paint, felt, silk and just a little twist on the patterns in her book.

Tell me a story - The Paper Bag Princess

 by Robert Munsch & Michael Martchenko

Once there was a beautiful princess (Elizabeth). She lived in a castle and had expensive princess clothes. She was going to marry a prince named Ronald.

Unfortunately, a dragon smashed her castle, burnt all her clothes with his fiery breath, and carried off Prince Ronald.

Elizabeth decided to chase the dragon and get Ronald back. She looked everywhere for something to wear but the only thing she could find that was not burnt, was a paper bag. So she put on the paper bag and followed the dragon....

 

...Finally Elizabeth came to a cave with a large door that had a huge knocker on it. She took hold of the knocker and banged on the door. The dragon stuck his nose out of the door and said. 'Well a princess! I love to eat princesses.....'

Elizabeth is a resourceful and clever princess and the dragon is a bit of a flaunt - 'is it true, said Elizabeth, 'that you can burn up ten forests with your fiery breath?' 'Oh yes,' said the dragon....

At this point I must abandon my story telling because I don't want to ruin the middle or the ending! It was not my intention that you would read this post and immediately sucumb to the overwhelming desire to buy two books - just one! The Paper Bag Princess has a most fabulous and unconventional ending and can be found free and well loved on the shelves of your local library. Making Peg Dolls by Margaret Bloom on the other hand is so new it is nowhere near a library shelf and will be so well love by you and yours, you would never want to return it anyway!

You can get your very own copy from one of these places -

• Amazon
• The Book Depository
• Barnes & Noble
• Waldorf Books
• Powell's
• Booktopia

You can get more sneak peeks and treats by browsing the official blog tour -


February 4th:  The Crafty Crow
February 5th:  The Magic Onions
February 6th:  The Toymaker
February 7th:  Clean
February 8th:  Anna Branford
February 11th:  Red Bird Crafts
February 12th:  Art is a Way
February 13th:  Softearth's World
February 14th:  Chocolate Eyes
February 15th:  Rhythm and Rhyme
February 18th:  Wild Faerie Caps
February 19th:  Sacred Dirt
 

 

Almost time... turn your volume up and whistle along

At the end of the month you could have your very own copy! Want one? Have a little look here

little snippets of craftiness

I think that at some point soon I will be free to come back and more than just dabble in blogland... this year has just been a little crazy - just had a lovely image of myself in a full circle skirt, spinning around and around!

I have managed a little craftiness lately - for little people birthday gift requests, It was fun, I do wish I had more idle time...

This little duck was for a first birthday gift. I haven't blown the dust off my scroll saw for such a long time, I was a bit nervous! I drew a nice gentle curved 'thing' to ease myself back into it and only broke one blade.

My cousin's daughter coveted a knitted horse at kindergarten so with the swift inbox arrival of one of Linda's magic patterns, this little fella trotted into her life for her 5th birthday.

Making Pretty Girl Skirts

I have been gone so long from this space.. I've been doing stuff, lots of stuff - it did my head in a bit but I think I've got it together now...

Yesterday I made a couple of little skirts. The wee one had a little birthday party to go to, which required a gift and well, she wanted one too.

I had a long denim skirt which I didn't wear much, too long for this town (weather wise ... I have no idea about style wise!) so I cut it up. Bonus is that I got a 'new' skirt too.

I kept the bottom edge as the new bottom edge so I only had to do one seam, and it was wide enough to make two skirts (in size 3). Along the hem of each I used cotton yarn to crocheted a pretty edge, added 'bits' and then overlocked on a cotton lycra waistband.

The purple edging I made first by using the idea from a tutorial by Heidi Bears. Heidi uses a really simple back stitch technique to create a place to crochet into. The stitches I used are very simple - sc, 3dc, sc.. Heidi has a step by step tutorial for that too which she created for a little fabric heart.

After I was in the swing of it I did a picot edge on the green one - 3sc, chain 3, slip stitch into third chain from the loop, 3sc.

Was fun, and EASY... might make some more... might crochet edges on the big girl's shorts!

Pyjama Party

A week or two ago the big girl's piano teacher had piles of quality clothes all over her music room, she said she was clearing cupboard space and was asking just $2 an item. We found four beautiful little cardigans that fit nicely, a pretty skirt and a pair of funky PJs.. think we spent $12.

Now the big girl is not as long in the leg as a ladies size extra small and the shirt from the PJ's was never going to fit (besides a t-shirt is much more comfy to wear to bed than a shirt) so I hemmed the pants for her - draw string waist so no problem there.

I grabbed a pair of PJ pants from the wee one's drawer and set about making a matching sister pair.

I think it took less than an hour from inception to done. No hems either because I used the bottom of the shirt for the bottom of the pants!

They are cute yes?

When the pants were done, I still had two sleeves of fabric left... hmmmm

A bedtime sleeping companion of 10 years deserves a new pair of PJs every now and then too don't you think? (I made some for the wee one's doll too but she won't get the doll or its pants til her birthday)

The making of a belly button (a tutorial)

I give all the dolls I make a belly button. Perhaps it is the midwife in me; a belly button makes it someone's baby - a remnant of the maternal link...

Belly buttons are scar tissue, an indentation (innie) or protrustion (outie), made where the umbilical cord broke away from the abdomen. The size and shape of a belly button has nothing to do with clamping, tying, cutting or not - it is what it is. It is not genetic and you can't blame the midwife.

To make a little button for your baby doll you will need a small piece of scrap body fabric a couple of inches long and less than an inch wide, sharp scissors and a needle and thread. You doll should be stuffed but preferably without its head yet on (Tho I have done it when the doll is complete, it can be a bit fiddlier tis all).

Along the long side, fold the fabric into thirds and begin whip stitching the sides so that it kind of makes a flat tube.

When you have stitched about an inch, roll (scroll) the tube so your stitches are on the inside and whip stitch the bottom to hold it in place.

Keep rolling and stitching til you get it the size and shape you want then snip off the excess fabric on a diagonal and carefull fold in the raw edges and neatly stitch in place.

Then try it on for size and pick your position.

To start with, secure your spot on the abdomen with a couple of stitches (I don't cut my threads between the making of and the placing on so it is pretty secure) and then secure the belly button by working around in ladder stitch three or four times.

First through the lower edge of the button

and then through the skin of the abdomen.

You can be sure that inquisitive fingers will pull at and play with the belly button so be sure it is on tight! To finish I like to pull it and make a bit of an indent. To do that I come up through the center of the button and then back down into the abdomen stuffing. Now depending on the length of your thread and your preference you can either come down and out somewhere in the groin or up through the neck hole - either way make sure you catch plenty of stuffing and then turn around and go back where you came out and back into the belly button.

Tie it off really securely, make three knots, and then bury your thread into the body somewhere before snipping off.

She doesn't look so cute headless, and armless but I tell you she has a VERY cute bottom!