my puppets

So inspired by the puppets a few posts back, I attempted to make my own.

I made the heads from masking tape (the non-shiny tape) and molded heads onto twigs from the garden.

I then glued layers of paper onto the faces and let them dry overnight.

I painted them with skin tone paint and then glued on eyes, gave them some colour and a hair-do and I just finished the first two!

Jay -he's armless and likes to listen to music on his headphones. He needed a bit of help to get them onto his ears.

Esmerelda - she is known for her wild hair and doily dresses.

Except Jay feels inadequate....

He's short.

my place and yours

I have the honour of wearing the Theme Queen Crown for Pip's My Place and Yours Meme Series. Thank you Pip!!

Being the foxymoron that I am, I decided on the theme - That's nyoice, that's different, that's unewesyewl!

Does your home have a quirky feature or several? Something you throw a strategically placed coat over if people are visiting or avoid telling the real estate agent about? You might be very proud of your house flaw. Maybe you have issues with plumbing, and give the Meryl Streep toilet speech from Mamma Mia, "Now about the toilet. If it doesn't flush right away, just go, then take a walk and...." with a hand wave.

We live in an old home and we have more nyoice, different and unewesyewl features then normal ones, but this light switch tops the list. It's a switch with no light. Just stuck to the wall with no light to turn on. A bit like being dressed up to go out for a night on the town, except your date doesn't show up.

We have thought of many scenarios, obviously being that the electrician maybe took a plummet from the roof when he went to install the light and didn't finish the job. Then we think maybe we have a prisoner under the house and we are turning his light on and off, or maybe it's a switch connected to the neighbours tv.

One day we will fix it, but for now it's too much fun to watch our visitors looking skyward and confused.

If you would like to play along, go and visit the lovely Pip and pop your name on the list. I know I would love to see your nyoice, different and unewesyewl home feature or secret, and I won't tell anybody I swear.

*That's nyoice, that's different, that's unewesyewl here

puppets

I love puppets and clay animation.

I have always found it fascinating that a lump of clay or a sock, paper mache or a figure resting quietly, can be brought to life when it's manipulated, adding movement and matching it to music or a voice. You no longer see it in it's original form. It has been transformed.

I also admire the painstaking process that goes into making a puppet/clay model. It it time consuming and made by hand.

My favourite puppets are from an etsy shop called Rose Lullaby Dolls , which made this beautiful angel doll. So sweet with her doily wings.

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Rose Lullaby Dolls here

AMC Creatures here

Sycamore Moon Studios here

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If you have time, watch these two Australian music videos involving puppets.

Josh Pyke - Sew My Name

Sneaky Sound System - Kansas City

more puppets......

Team America - I'm So Ronery

The Dark Crystal

Rapunzel

and Being John Malkovich.

jingle bells week 3 - setting the table

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I can sometimes spend hours deciding what to use for a table setting. I love flowers, but sometimes it's nice to think outside the box and try something a little different......

such as this branch suspended above the table. Suspension is good - more room for platters and your clumsiest relatives (but you love them dearly) won't knock anything over.

You can leave it earthy, paint it or even wrap it in material. Make sure it's secure (nothing ruins a dinner like Grandma getting hit in the head by a falling branch) and if you are going to dangle tea lights from it, don't set the branch alight.

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I love this scene. Nordic, inviting, sticking to one colour palette and the table decorations line the window sill.

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Rachel with her thrifted animals and doilies has made a beautiful display on her sideboard which can carry over to your table. Rummage for animals and if you don't like the colour, paint it.

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Instead of candles use your sticks and place baubles on top. Get out your glitter pen and you have created something new. You can even write names of your guests on baubles and place them on the plates.

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Cupcake platters look lovely used as ornament holders.....

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....and cake platters can hold wayward decorations keeping them all in place.
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Paper with tiny punching can make lovely soft glow candle holders.

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Leaves cut from felt and then ironed down the center can make lovely napkin holders.
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Crochet ornaments on a wooden tree.

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Or a mega crochet tree. If you follow the link you will be able to download the free pattern.

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Crochet a granny square table runner.

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Take Polaroids of your Christmas decorations, your day starting with opening your presents, or pictures as your guests arrive. Place them in a big heap down the middle of your table or peg them to string and make a garland.

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Lovely handmade trees and pom poms. Make one or a cluster.

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You can make or buy (from Ikea) Ginger Bread houses. Use your house or make a village of houses down the middle of your table.

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A house under a cake lid transforms it into a large snow globe. It also keeps the house fresh and away from little fingers.

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Wow! Have lots of time on your hands. The sky is the limit!

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My son loves trains. Collect the straight track pieces and run it down the centre of your table.

You could also involve your children and get them to make you a table decoration from Lego.

You could find lots of Christmas books and make a stack.

Buy the cheap knock off Babushka dolls from the markets and make a line of people. Print out pictures of your relatives faces and put them on the front.

Collect random jars and fill with coloured sand, beads or flowers.

Make fudge and arrange it in a Christmas tree shape. Add icing sugar and sparklers.

I could go on and on...but I best stop.

:)

clean white love

I love Lisa Mitchell.

I would like to be one of her friends running around with brollies (umbrellas) and wearing red boots.

polyvore

I have created an account (littlesuitcase) on Polyvore.

It's great if you have the shopping bug because you get to mess around and create lots of different styles, and you don't have to part with any money!

You can mix and match and see if things go together, and you can print out your looks, put them in your bag and the next time you are on a shopping spree/at the thrift store you can use them for a guide.

There are some fantastic users on Polyvore and I'm still learning so my creations are pretty basic but still lots of fun if you can't sleep at night and have hours to kill.

My sleep has left the building.

your collection

This week's Pip-Hosted meme theme is Your Collection and it was thought up by lovely Kate from Fox's Lane. Pop round and say hello!

I love to collect things and I can't seem to stop at one. If I love something, I have to keep finding them to bring home. Like rounding up cattle if I was a cowboy.

I love birds. Found this little thrifted one yesterday at Savers for $1.70. Gave him a fresh coat of paint.

Wool. I love to buy wool from "the yarn man" at Camberwell markets. I keep them in this vintage travel bag.

Cook books. Ben and I are always on the lookout for a great cook book.

Elephants. I love them.

Coffee table books on Homes, Paris and Audrey Hepburn. I have several Audrey books and art hanging in my home. My prized possession is a drawing of a mother with a baby she did and it hangs on my wall....which needs a post all of it's own because it is so special.

I love to collect aprons. I found this blue little spot apron yesterday at Savers.

Can you count your own handmade things as a collection? Quilts, pillows and doilies.

Doilies.....

Embroidery.....

A draw full of scarves.

my well worn Ked shoes.

more birds...I love these glitter birds. I cover hoops with material and then push a sewing pin into the bird and hang with fishing wire.

more elephants for luck.

Our wine collection. The wine rack is over 100 years old and I got it from my old work at the Supreme Court Of WA. It was the Judge's pigeon holes for mail. It weighs about a billion tonnes and you get death stares from movers when you ask to change the position for the 3rd time.

A collection of books I used to read as a girl for Audrey. I have been building them up from Ebay.

and our classic penguins...

vintage cases and birds...

vintage thread which was my mum's.

vintage ornaments

our Lemax Christmas ongoing collection....I want to be an old Granny with her village.

soaps from the market

suitcases

and little vintage toys.

Phew!

Even now our children are starting their own collections. Audrey loves Barbies and Baby Dolls and Elton loves Trains and Cars.

When they are teenagers and don't want them anymore, I am keeping them in a cupboard because they will love them when they are old. They just won't know that when they are teens.

don't hate me....

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I went and saw New Moon yesterday and I didn't like it.

Well, I probably shouldn't say I didn't like the whole movie.

Visually there was lots to look at.....muscles, pecs, pecs, pecs, muscles, hair and some wolves that looked impressive. I think they had a bigger budget this time compared with Twilight where they had about $15 to spend.

Going to see this movie as a 38 year old lady made me smile at being past the whole teenage angst years, but sad that my daughter will go through it. Sad in a way that the message being pushed through the books by Stephanie Meyers and now the movies is that if you are a doormat with zero personality then you can get a guy.

The main character in the books is Bella. She is madly in love with Edward and he is her whole life.

That's fine, except this girl does not have one single hobby. Not one passion (except Edward). She doesn't speak about any subject with heart or feeling (except Edward). Bella buys a couple of motorcycles to fix up, but her idea of fixing them is to sit next to a guy and watch him fix it and eat pizza.

Bella is sullen and can barely raise a smile. Her poor old Dad buys her a camera for her birthday and she has a hard time smiling let alone saying thank you. Dad runs in night after night to comfort her from bad dreams and she just pulls the covers back over her head.

Bella spends four very long books feeling as if she is not good enough to have a vampire as a boyfriend, only gaining confidence in the end of the 4th book when she has turned into one and feels more pretty.

I know it's only a movie, but $72.7 million dollars for opening weekend means lots of young girls are going to see a movie where the main message is - girls be a wet mop with no ambition, rude to all that you meet and obsess about men and your looks.

I want to raise my daughter knowing about heartbreak and first love, but hope that she will have hobbies and passions to tide her over the bad times and always be able to talk to Ben and I and share her feelings.

I want her to smile and laugh and be herself and when and if she does meet someone special know she is lucky to have him, but know that he is also very lucky to have her.

inspiring spaces

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Almost as inspiring as the art that comes from these rooms, are the spaces themselves.

I love to see pictures of where people create.

Although you can be a genius and create beautiful things from your kitchen table. I have made plenty of things on the floor and from the couch. :)

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magic

Two completely random images, but both providing magic in their own way.

The amazing colour combination of deep plum and emerald from the outfit worn by Emma Watson for Vogue. The tulip skirt and the doily type applique on the top just adds to the magic.

and this 1993 video of Bjork. My favourite music video of all time.

Have a very happy weekend!
x

pip quilt

I made this lap quilt last night and when I finished I said to Ben, "this looks like a Pip quilt!"

I think it's the combination of the patterns and colours and the headscarf lady (I can definitely picture Pip zipping around on a vespa with a headscarf) that reminded me so much of her.

I have lots of lovely influences around our home that remind me of people who have made an impact on my life.

It's all about sharing, learning to try new things and having a go. Something Pip does with her readers every day.

Lots of mustard yellows and greens.

Washed and then ironed to press in that dried in the sun smell.

jingle bells week 2

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I have been guilty of this in the past.

Christmas Eve and I am at the supermarket with 3 gigantic rolls of paper in my arms. The paper promises it will be 5 metres long and when you get home it's measured in Pygmy metres so you run out and the paper is so thin that when you fold it, it breaks.

You curse yourself that you should be more prepared with your gift wrapping. You go to so much effort with the gift and then it's thrown together in some dodgy wrapping. It brings your gift down a few levels.

Here are a few ideas on wrapping gifts thoughtfully without spending a lot of money.

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This year I am all about paper doilies. I love them and they are so cheap. You can buy packets of them for almost nothing and you can get them at the supermarket. Throw a few packets into the trolley and you have organised your gift wrapping out of your food budget.

Stick with brown paper and bags and then wrap them around your present with string.

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Wrap your gifts in plain paper and on Christmas Eve head out into the garden with some scissors. Pop in some leaves and little twigs and you have topped your present for nothing.

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Gift boxes are beautiful, but you can go to Ikea and get any size box you want for half the price and then the person can keep it. Buy some extra packets of ornaments and use them for decoration.

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Christmas ornaments are meaningful, so buy ornaments that can be used on the tree in the coming years. You can write your name on the ornament and when the person hangs them on the tree the next year they can remember you gave it to them.

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Your kids can draw pictures on large rolls of butcher paper and you can use this to wrap your gifts.

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Roll paper into a cone shape and cut out images from last year's Christmas cards and stick them on the front. You can put home made fudge or cookies inside.

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Paint chips can be used for punching and the great thing about them is that the colours match and they are free! Add some string to make pretty paper garlands.

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Brown paper and fake wood grain look pretty together. If you can't find any wood grain, draw directly onto the paper with a pen.

This idea looks really great on postal tubes. If you cover them in brown paper and draw wood grain onto it, they look like logs.

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Can't be bothered to buy cards for the presents, then colour code your family. Purple paper for Dad, green for Mum...........

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Go down to the thrift store/op shop and buy a few old books. Tear out the pages and wrap your gifts. Tie up with string and bright buttons and your gift is pretty and recycled.

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Cheap material (especially sourced from op shops) can be used for wrapping. When everyone is done unwrapping, gather it all back up and make a quilt.

making, making, making...

I have been crafting up a storm and it's been great because after our Mum's came to visit, I have been in a bit of a lull.

I finished our Christmas quilt. A mixture of scrap material on the top, and a vintage sheet on the bottom.

I made a little summer Christmas quilt for Baby Sam who I will get to see (with my dear friend Jules) on Friday!

Summer quilts are great for children if you still want them covered over when the temperature cools off at night. They are lightweight but also comforting.

I love Jules and I can't wait to see her all the way from Canberra.

I made a environmental friendly shopping bag from calico, a vintage sheet, curtain and a doily.

Now it lives at the front door on the hooks.

And then I had some empty spots on our christmas tree so I sat and made some ornaments tonight.

This was so easy to do. Just remove the circle from a doily. Carefully snip it out. You will have a circle with a hole in the middle. Fold it in half and then roll it up in a flower shape. Cut out a felt leaf and sew it to the bottom of the doily. Push it onto the tree or use it as a present topper, attach a brooch or secure it to a headband.

I love working with doilies. They are a dime a dozen and you can use them for so many things!

I made these last year but gave them a spruce up after a year living in a box. Cut out a tree shape from material. Sew around the edges (they are supposed to look a bit shabby) and stuff. I stamped out our names and pined them onto the tree.

Two felt hearts, some doily scrap and a charm.

Felt folded over, a doily middle, a charm and a pearl push pin.

Vintage material heart with doily sash.

Nothing expensive or time consuming. Just an hour spent filling up some lonely branches.
x

you know me

I have a gorgeous cousin called Michelle and she is always thinking of me.

I had a little note in my letterbox to say that I needed to pick up something from the postie, so I went down and inside the envelope were these little angel ladies holding hands. Completely up my alley - whimsy, wooden faced angels in crochet. Perfect.

Not only was it so lovely of Michelle to send them to me, but the biggest compliment is that she saw them and thought of me. Michelle knew I would like them because she's my friend.

They filled a space on my door. It's like the carved box outline was meant for them to hang, and they will watch everyone that comes through our door.

princess audrey

Our little Audrey is two and a half.

She loves purple and pink and she likes to wear ballet flats that she calls her "dancing shoes". But, she also changes her shoes about 4 times a day.

If Audrey sees anything flowing or long or with tulle she calls it a princess dress.

Audrey wears purple wings on her back but mixes it up by carrying a Tonka truck in her hand.

She is beautiful and funny and a muffin and we love her so much.

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