Sunday projects..

This afternoon was a bit of a mad dash to do some more of the year 6 'Identity project'. In the context of looking at Australia and what it means identity wise. The boy is researching the invention of Vegemite (certainly an experiment that one)... the girls are doing a short play about Barry Humphries and his character Dame Edna..
Meanwhile i got back onto those embroidery projects i had standing by..

Sailor ... soldier...


Hope you all had a lovely weekend too.. whatever your project...

Awesome opportunity..

If you would like to learn more about hand cut stamps AND have a go yourself AND are in Sydney on April 10th you could do a workshop...with Riyo from Talk to the wind and sun
hand carved stamp workshop on APRIL 10th

where: hondakara full of books
address: Level 1, 465 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000
date: 10th April, 2010 (saturday)
time: 11am-1pm (2 hours)

fee:$28 per person
includes: tea + sweet treats

5 seats available.
RESERVATION is needed.
please contact: hondarake@gmail.com
call 02-9261-5225
otherwise, please email (riyo) to rioringo@hotmail.com

How gorgeous. How perfect indeed.

Boys own... fun

So to recap.. when I'm not crafting I'm sharing the parenting of twins. Who just turned 12. We had skipped through the Alice party.. and postponed the boys party. UNTIL yesterday.. I'm not going to go into all the stuff about video gaming, pros and cons. I think it depends on the child/individual.
With embroidery projects packed i drove a car load of 11-12 year old's to laser zone.
It was great overhearing the conversation, it covered who, and how many stitches someone had experienced.. trips to the dentist, needles in the face.. oh.. Kawasaki ... favourite japanese food ... Lamborghini ..girls in the class... then they put on the vests, shrieked and IN they went..
it's dark, there's smoke, there's different levels, there's two teams, there's strategy.
There's cheering, hugging, sweating and lots of story telling - recounting the moments.
In between they hit the 'arcade' games. .. the lighting was NOT conducive to my projects AND parental seating was lacking.. so Mr R and I stepped on the dance machine for a bit..
here's some of the mood...


After checking the scoreboard, the gourmet/designer table was missing... instead we head for a burger + fries chow down..

And that was our Saturday afternoon. The boy then counted his birthday money and researched the pre paid mobile phones .. we then went off to nail the deal..

While organic, handmade + homemade were missing... what was present was absolute happiness + sheer joy!
Happy Birthday to them indeed!

Stuck for an idea..

So while i was in the shed, i imagined myself doing a series of lovely little collage pieces.. Like the ones spotted here, by Heather Chontos. (above + below).

Simplicity is definitely an art form. I was surrounded by bits of colour I'd painted, bits i'd stamped and collected. I really wanted to make a gift for a friend. I stuck bits down, I took bits away..
This is how it turned out...

So yuh, not quite simplicity. Guess it's gonna take me longer than a few hours to work through some stuff..
In the meantime guess i'll keep trying to work on 'my' style. Trouble is I like to play and jump around.. I think by experimenting i'll discover someplace to settle... I then jumped back on the mac and played around with this idea..

It was lovely to be able to play again, no I wasn't available to come out today..

Reclaimed time..

Hooray!
I didn't go to the shops. I read a book lying on the grass. I didn't go out (well just to take the kids to the pool).
I flicked through new magazines. I didn't clean. I didn't catch up with anyone (only dropped the girl to a party) BUT i did go to the shed..
I got out the modelling compound..

Using an old credit card to smooth it across a surface helps to get an even finish. Here I'm smoothing it over a cheap 'canvas pad'.. Then i dry brush some paint over the top..

Then using some rubber off cuts i carved a a couple of shapes, inked them up and stamped them on..
There is hesitation about just how far to go as you can't 'undo'. But then you've just gotta go with it..

While in the shed I thought i'd try a monoprint. I've been enjoying Cathy Cullis's work - see her monoprint here. So I painted some waterbased ink onto glass, then placed paper onto the dry ink. Using a drypoint etching tool i did a few small doodles.. Some worked better than others.. here's a few..

I do like a bit of smudge and the line work had it's little surprises... I think i need to do some more and try different ink/paper combos..
Then i scanned it all in and ended up with this..

I had to work wonders with pasta, green beans, half an avocado, some smoked trout and almost ripe tomato for dinner... but I soooooo enjoyed my reclaimed time!

A stitch in time...

So as i try and reclaim some of my creative time.. i got to play a little to manage some embroidery..
This went through my mind first: should i just practice some random stitches? should i do abstract? should i buy a pattern? should i do some sketches? Actually, I should just START! so i did:

I based it on that sketch i did a few weeks ago with my left hand, i then drew on the linen with a marker that dissolves (altho i need to wash that a little more).. I think i should just keep stitching away until i find my groove and style..
However i did cut up some excess Ikea packaging to 'order' my embroidery threads.. with the intention of being able to carry a project for on-the-go..

Did you get to create or 'order' anything this weekend?

The Room...

So how is Miss R's room going?
well last week the floor was done - just inexpensive chip board on top of concrete.. (Yet to be varnished/sealed). So to recap, this is quite a small room - about 3m x 2m. We needed furniture that can be moved, has storage and works with in the space. The bed we had previously was elevated with cupboards underneath. Which meant the room stayed the same for 5 years.. and more 'stuff' got thrown into the cupboards - some items lurking way back in the dark - never to be uncovered...
Anyway.. so this morning the girls headed off to Ikea.. The boys were ready to lend a hand with the allen keys while the girls tackled the rest...


we moved in the desk.. Mr R sawed the bookshelf in half to reposition under the window..

then we added a bedside cabinet, some new linen, a wee shelf + a vinyl wall decal..


So, that's how its going... Next we'll be seeking out an old chair and adding some handmade touches..
It's tricky that balance of too-new and hickedly pickedly, but for this horse mad 12 year old it's on the right track.. (oh! windows + blinds next month!)

To London to see the queen?

...Well, not exactly, that's NOT where I've been.
This last weekend marks our two turning twelve! While one was on crutches and we postponed the boys party.. we carried on with wonderland for our Alice! (not her real name).

we baked cupcakes, shortbread rabbits + clocks... I cut sandwiches for the teaparty..
we set the scene...
we prepared the tea party.. an earlier visit to the charity shop meant every guest left with their own teacup, saucer + vintage spoon - while enjoying cups of creaming soda for the party..


'Alice' waited for her guests...


AND i made THE cake...
It's only really my second one! my mum and dad did all the special cake making tasks when the kids were younger.. but that's not possible any more.. Soooooo! i rallied to the fore and Hurrah! I just did a circle + a square and added then together... the colours inspired by Tim Burton's movie of course. I rushed out to get 'milkbottle' lollies for the teeth, BUT when i stood dazed + confused in the shop facing momentary defeat - i turned my thoughts to tic tacs and YES! success was mine!

So then naturally we all headed off to watch Alice in Wonderland 3D which, was, totally wonderful!