My Favourite Jeans

My favourite jeans finally bit the dust last week and I had to force myself to buy a new pair. So what to do with the old pair. They definitely couldn't go to the op shop so they became a bag.


I teamed the denim with my favourite Aunty Cookie colour of the moment, green! I made the strap quite long but put a button on the bag and a few buttonholes along the strap so it can shorten. The photo above shows it at it's longest length.


Here it is at the shortest length. I'm not sure though if the button should be on the inside so when the strap is short it is tucked inside the bag (suggestions welcome on this).

I lined it with some Michael Miller fabric I picked up at the last Remnant Warehouse sale and used the back jeans pockets as well.

And just because they are being cute here is a photo of the kiddies

Box Swap

My creation
Originally uploaded by Snailblazer

1. Top Kids Magazine, 2. Top Kids Magazine, 3. Sewing Clipboard, 4. Golden Book Notepad, 5. Golden Book Notepad, 6. Vintage Fabric, 7. Vintage Fabric, 8. Vintage Fabric, 9. Pink Fabric, 10. VW Bag, 11. Animal Fabric Panel, 12. Rock Chic Bag, 13. Magnets, 14. Ric Rac, 15. Ric Rac, 16. Vintage Buttons, 17. Zips, 18. Purse Frame

This is..........

This weeks this is is from flossy-p and it's something you've bought but never used. I hate to admit it but I have heaps of things I have bought but never used. The last thing though was this Sunbeam Foodsaver

I thought it would be a great way to keep things especially the fruit I dried in my Sunbeam Food Dryer (which incidentally I used to use heaps). Of course that never happened though because the fruit never lasted that long.

Gifts

We went to a 2 year old party last Saturday so I decided make him a cape (one side with an O - his first initial and the other side an S), a sock monkey and a bag to put everything in. I added a Mem Fox book as well.
Is it just me or are presents never opened at parties any more. Charlotte has been to quite a few parties this year and the presents are never opened, even though the kids often want to.

Since when did this become the norm? I actually like the presents opened. It's nice to see the child's/parent's reaction to your present. I guess it's because I often make something (and it might just be a bag to put the gift in) but I like to see if it's appreciated or not.

Also there just doesn't seem to be the thankfulness (probably not the right word) any more. You hand over the present, often just adding it to the big pile, sometimes there's a quick thanks from the parents and then that's it you don't hear anymore.

Enough of my gripe. Hope everyone is having a great day and a big thanks for reading my blog

This is..........

This is how I recycle. Like many other crafty bloggers out there I re-use a lot of things, vintage books, sheets, fabric just to name a few.

Book becomes a pencil/notepad holder

Vintage books turned in paper globes

Vintage Seasme Street fabric

Book pages become magnets

Bag

Thanks to Threebuttons mum for this week's This Is

Also we have 10 people for the swap so I think I will close it off now so we can see how fast it moves. If you haven't emailed me your address please do so. Also if you are still interested email me because we may be able to run two at once.

Swap Time

Hello friendly blog readers. I have been thinking about organising a swap through my blog for a while now and I recently saw one on Swap-Bot that I thought might be pretty easy to organise.

Basically I make up a box of goodies - fabric, papers, ribbons, hand-made items, buttons, vintage stuff, lollies...... you get the picture. Then I post it off to the next person on the list, they take out 3 things and replace them with three things and they post to the next person on the list and so on until the last person who posts it back to me (hopefully not with the same things I sent!).

I will take a picture of the contents and then each person could take pictures of what they take out and what they put in to keep the anticipation going. There would be a maximum of a two week turnaround for each person but obviously the quicker it goes the better so we don't lose momentum.

The cost of postage should be no more than $10.

If you are interested in participating email me at cassandra_ward(at)telstra(dot)com

The closing date is 25th May and then I'll get it posted the following week.
This is open to Australian residents only due to postage costs.

Also I was recently part of a softie swap over at Essential Baby. I got this hippo from My Little Pony after much delay by Australia Post. I've had to use MLP's photo because the hippo went for a swim in the bath and so is now drying off.

Quilt for Charlotte

I think the quilting bug has bitten. I finally finished a small lap quilt for Charlotte and I really love it. It has a very vintage/retro look to it.

It made with the American Jane range and backed it with fabric from the Peas and Carrots range which I also made the binding from because I am trying to use my stash up.

I quilted around each square and then also diagonally across them.


And just for good measure a couple of shots of the girls together

Lucy by herself, excuse the outfit but she has been home all day so is a mess. For a girl who used to hate hats she now puts them on all the time.

This is..........

This is my mum on her wedding day

And her and I

Happy Mother's Day to all the mum's out there

Softies for Mirabel

I've finished my second softie set for Mirabel.

Here they are in their carry bag.

They will be joining this set (as soon as I finish the carry bag) on their way to Mikes

I've been having a bit of a dilemma for quite a while now marking my cookbooks and magazines and lots of other stuff too.

As you can see they are marked with bits of post it notes or else the pages are folded over. Neither of these look very nice. I recently saw the corner of an envelope being used to mark the page and thought what a good idea but it looked a bit plain for me so I decided to funky it up a bit. So I made a test one up using some vintage storybook paper but I am thinking vintage cooking magazines would be great for the cook books.
I might even bundle them up with a shopping list board and sell them over on Made It

Shopping List and Frightening Experience

Thanks for all the comments about the pants and also the softies.

Our shopping list ran out of paper recently and we have been rely on memory, a bad thing in this house. So I made a new one. I saw this small chipboard clip board at Spotlight and it was magnetised so I Mod Podged some pictures from a Good Taste magazine on it and recycled some paper from work and a new shopping list is born.

I made a sewing clip board a while ago by the same method using a vintage pattern. I am always losing drawings and things so it is coming in very handy. I think I will probably make some more.
Now onto my frightening experience this afternoon. I was driving home from work along the Gore Hill Freeway in Sydney and all of a sudden there was a screeching of brakes by a Porsche two cars in front of me and dust flying everywhere and large objects bouncing across the road. The car in front of me and myself swerving to avoid the debris. Would you believe it but one of the light poles on the medium strip had actually fallen down. I don't know how anybody wasn't killed let alone hurt. I'm still in shock that something like that could happen.

Saggy daggy pants

Well the wind was knocked out of my sails this morning when Charlotte put on the pants I had made featuring my precious Aunty Cookie fabric. Apparently they are saggy daggy pants and in Charlotte's words "this is the first time you didn't make something right mum!". So I am going to take the leg in a bit more (yes I had already taken it in yesterday when she tried them on) and then hopefully they will be right. Anyway here is a picture of them.



Here is my first softie collection for Mirabel being organised by Pip. I'm pretty happy with them but they need a little tweaking next time.

Charlotte had to get in the photo too and has declared she would like some, although after her comments about the pants we'll have to see.

Delightful reading

This

was in my letterbox this afternoon. I can't wait to settle down and have a good read tonight. Find out where you can get your copy here.

Softie Swap

I was part of a softie swap over at Essential Baby and now that my softies have made their way to their new homes I can post pictures. (It had been raining for days when I took these photos so please excuse them). I was making for a little boy so wanted to make sure they were baby friendly and boyish.

First off I made this car (which is also going to be adapted for this year's Softies for Mirabel. I put plastic on for the windows and black felt for the wheels. I also stuffed some cellophane behind the wheels to make them crinkly.




This superhero is a reincarnation of the one I made for Softies for Mirabel last year. After much tweaking with the pattern I am much happier with him as he looks more like a person than a cat (according to Charlotte), although he still needs some work. I stitched an S onto his front .

Hopefully they will be well liked.

This is..........

my favourite book. This was another hard one as I have so many favourites but this is the book I read time and time again and never get sick of.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

It always makes me cry every time (but I'm a bit of a sook anyway) but I feel really connected to the characters. I love the movie too, it is one of the few movies that is true to the book.

This would have to be my all time favourite children's book series - The Silver Brumby by Elaine Mitchell. I am always on the lookout for these in op shops but alas I have never found any. My other children's favourite was The Secret Seven and I am slowly rebuilding my collection of these, mainly vintage copies.

Thanks to Dees for this week's this is. Pop over to Angela's blog and see what everyone else is reading

Vinnies Sale

After being alerted to this sale by Ingrid I managed to slip away from work early today and make a flying visit. I was in a big hurry so probably didn't do it justice but I did manage to pick up some great fabric.

The first one is a lovely heavy weight fabric which will make a nice bag (Ingrid I think you may have gotten the same fabric), the next one is for pj pants for Charlotte and the third is a cord which will probably also be use d in a bag.Some lovely fabric which will probably be used for clothes for the girls

Then downstairs I picked up this Brownie book which might see it's way down to Brown Owls

Here are some pictures of the paper globes Charlotte and I made hanging in her room. You will have to excuse all the photos in this post but it hasn't stopped raining here for weeks and I can't keep waiting for good weather to take photos. Apparently we have had the wettest April in 77 years.

This is..........

my latest discovery, embroidery. Thanks to Brown Owl I had to embroider my name and "faraway" and now the bug has well and truly hit and I can't wait to do more (and hopefully improve lots).Thanks to Knit Owl for this week's this is. Pop over here to see what else is being discovered.

Op Shop Delights

I always seem to spy the op shop finds on other blogs and look lovingly at them but yesterday it was my turn. While Charlotte was at gymnastics I thought I would duck into a nearby op shop and I came away with some great items.

Firstly 3 gorgeous sheets, one of which looks like it has never been used. I am dying to wash them but of course it is raining here.

Then I spied this wonderful booklet of about 10 pillowcase iron on transfers. I am assuming you then embroider over the design but maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong.

I also got this toaster cover ready for embroidery which my mum has already hinted should fit her toaster.Here are the globes Charlotte and I made the other day. I will post another picture when we have them up along with out paper bowls as soon as they are done.

Also here are the pj pants I made Charlotte on Monday. They are a bit long that's why you can't see her feet.
And finally this cushion was originally going to be a doll quilt but then I decided it was too big so I thought a lap quilt but it was too small, then I found this cushion insert and I thought a cushion cover. So I unpicked all the quilting and detached the back from the front and made it a cover.