Some wire work

For a while there I thought I'd lost my bead-jo :) But it turned up again, said "I missed you" and settled in for the winter. Ahhhhhh, comfy!

So I thought I'd share some of my latest fascination for wire, especially copper wire. I love copper and recently just bought a Huuuuuuuuge lot of it at 50% off so will be using it a lot more. It's soft but strong - love it!

First up, copper wire (18 gauge cuff and 26 gauge wrapping) with Czech glass. I love the tone of the mint glass with the copper. This is quite a chunky piece so I put a safety chain on it as well - but it makes it hard to put on by yourself. Hmmmm, what to do?

One of my fave colour combos is red and blue - coral red and turquoise blue. These beads are red coral and synthetic Turquoise. I played around with my hammer and anvil that I bought last year at the bead show. You can see the slightly hammered/textured look on the copper wire. Safety chain on this one too though it's more petite.

This is a big mama! With same gauge wires as above but for some reason it just feels more stable so I didn't put a safety chain on it. Perhaps because there are more beads? Don't know really! Beads are glass focals and lovely lovely Swarovski crystals in jet, clear, light colorado and fire opal. Fireopal would have to be my favourite colour of Swarovski I think. It's just gorgeous - these photos don't do it justice at all!

And this is my favourite I think - same beads as above - twisted wire pendant. Freeform - I love seeing what comes out of my hands. So much fun!

This is some lovely quality Chinese crystals (not as nice as Swarovskis but very very nice all the same) and twisted coppe wire. I think this sparkles beautifully but the photo doesn't pick it up too well.

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday . . .

. . . to Uncle Ash!!!!

Have a fully sick day!

lots of love from all of us :-)

Oh and by the way . . .

. . . somebody is very happy with their new doona. See this post.

Too cute.

Our latest set of wheels . . .

. . . well it doesn't have wheels *yet*.

But it is a two-seater, with a baby seat (for a baby pony of course) and seat belts. It has had some minor bodywork done - some limited edition graffiti by Miss E.

All in all - it worked out pretty well and they do love to play in it. So far it is standing up to rigorous playing without falling apart. The only thing is Baby Pony's seat sometimes gets overloaded and the bulldog clips give out. Might have to book it into Kidsafe House for a safety assessment :-)

I was going to make a tutorial for it but ended up making it in the 30 minutes before dinner last night after the kids had been begging me all day to make a two-seater cardboard car - and I kept putting them off because of gardening. So my guilt kicked in at 5.30 and it was done by 6! Nothing quite so satisfying as crafting by the seat of one's pants! I do have more cardboard though so sing out if you think you might like a tute.

Do you think she likes it?

Something Scrappy

One of my loveliest friends had a birthday in January and I decided to make her a framed scrapbook page. She and her husband are fantabulous with our kids so I put photos of "Aunty P" playing with the kids. I've never done the collage/paper tearing thing but have always loved the kids' books that have illustrations done this way, especially "Hattie and the Fox" by Mem Fox. Goodness Gracious Me!!!

So here are some pics of what I came up with. I decided that the journalling would emphasise the ripped paper, when I probably could have done something with ink? But I just wasn't brave enough! Next time.

The journalling has lots of words starting with P - P for Aunty P. I was quite proud of how it turned out. And considering Aunty P is a very talented Art teacher I am, in hind sight, quite impressed with my bravery at giving her something "arty"!

And Aunty P loved it! So that's the main thing.

Thanks for looking :-)

Someone is going to be *very* excited when they get home from school this afternoon!

Hopefully 'twill be dry so I can put it on his bed ready to go.

He's been such a wonderful, wonderful boy with all this school business. So when he saw this in the latest Big W catalogue the other day I went and got it. He used to have pyjamas with a glow in the dark skeleton on them which he loooooooved to pieces. So he was very excited when he saw this doona cover.

This photo is from winter 2008!! So I guess E will have the skeleton pj's this winter!

Bag Lady.

It all started with this little purple bag.

O and E have been really into collecting "treasures". O will generally go and put them in his drawers in his bedroom, or, more usually, in his pockets where they often have a free ride in the washing machine :)

Miss E, however, likes to store her precious things in her "Barg" (bag).

Once the purple "barg" was full . . .

. . . as evidenced above, she then appropriated this beautifully handmade bag that I received from Mandy in a swap. She quilted the bag and it is quite exquisite with my name and some quavers on the front. Very cool and I love it. However, it is now the second receptacle for Miss E's treasures.

Yes - the purple "barg" now goes INTO the new bigger bag. With a whole heap of crap, I mean, treasures, including all the chalk from the blackboard. I had been wondering where it went to, until I opened her (my!!) bag and a whole heap of chalk dust wafted out. Mystery solved.

She keeps her Baby Alive nasal aspirator (yes I know - who knew a doll needed a nasal aspirator!!) and various cars that her brother trusted to her care (they're old ones Mum so she can have them) and various other bits and pieces that she has picked up over time.

As you can see she loooooooves her "barg" and it is so full it is literally bulging at the seams. But how cute is she? I don't have the heart to take it back.

She can often be found swinging it around by the beautifully crocheted string on the zipper - she also sucks on it so I can't vouch for its cleanliness.

And I should add that there is now ANOTHER bag that is bigger again. But this time she has decided not to put the above bag into the new bag. No, she is filling that one from scratch. It currently lives in her doll's stroller in her bedroom. It's nearly full too. She must have been a bag lady in a previous life.

But gosh she is cute! Lucky!!