Kokedama part two

Again, not a tutorial, but this is how I made my first hanging kokedama. 

Experiments in kokedama

This is Pinterest meets crafty chick meets gardener meets too many house plants, when the only way to go is up... Or down, in this case. As in attach the plants to the ceiling in my obsession of the week: kokedama, specifically hanging kokedama. 

This is not a tutorial, but a document of my own experiments in the style. If you want to know how to make kokedama a quick whip around a few Google results will give you ample information. However, for the purposes of information, I'm using sphagnum moss, orchid mix potting media, jute twine, one of my clearance orchids, and air-dry clay. No, I'm not mixing the clay through the potting mix as I've read in tutorials (probably not suitable)  but I'm making a sphere of it for the centre to give the kokedama a shape to work to, and to act as a bit of a weight.

So, here goes nothing! 

Indoor camping

I am sparing you all my over-excited ramblings about home grown mushrooms tonight ( I think I might be the only one who cares. And there are none in the box right now, anyway), and say instead 'look, look! I actually made something!' Sewing and crafting are one thing that has been missing in my life since SP fell into it, and, I confess, that I tried to cut out the first fabric triangle for this project while my 19 month old was awake and roaming about and I very quickly remembered why I don't do this kind of thing while she is around normally. Got just a wee bit frustrated. Lucky for her that she's cute! Ahem. Long story short, I put the scissors aside until she was in bed later that night.

I told you the other day that I've developed an obsession for children's indoor teepees (and outdoor bean teepees). I've even been collecting pictures of them. I decided I was going to have a go at making one myself, since it was only a few dowels and a couple of big fabric triangles, and I have a sewing machine gathering dust in the back of the cupboard. It was actually pretty easy to construct (once the SP was in bed!), just don't look too closely at the seams!


And I'm pretty sure my wee babe likes it and will have fun with it for years to come;


It even kind of folds up so we can store it more easily if we want to;

If I was a really dedicated blogger I'd draw up little 'How To' diagrams and write out instructions, but there are tutorials out there on the WWW already and I didn't follow any of them myself and I don't expect that anyone would really want one from me. But here's a couple of details just in case you are interested:
Materials were 4 x 180cm wooden dowels (18mm diameter), 1 x rubber band to hold them together at the top, and 2m each of three different cheap fabrics. I made the pyramid shape with the dowels and measured up the sides and cut my fabric to size. There are three, equal sized triangles of fabric for the back and sides and I used leftover fabric to make the door at the front. I stitched the sides together (with French seams which was probably unnecessary and a waste of time), leaving a hole at the top for the poles. I draped the fabric over the poles and hand-stitched the fabric to the poles along the seams in a couple of places to hold the whole lot together. That was it, pretty simple if you're at all craft-minded (and your eyes will be glazing over if you're not!)

The project was not quite as cheap as I would have liked. The dowels were a bit over $6 each, fabric varied between $4-$10/m and cost about $40 all together, all up the project cost a bit under $70 and about 4 hours of my time.

Gosh, feels good to actually make something! I should do it more often.

Two parter

Tonight's post has two halves which have absolutely nothing to do with each other :)

First up? I have become a bit obsessed with these:

Source: google.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: mejin.tumblr.com via Katie on Pinterest

Oh yes. Teepees! Specifically, cute little fabric indoor teepees for kids. I am on a mission to make one for SP. I bought four 1.8m wooden dowels the other day, and today I had a whole entire afternoon to myself to go shopping in the city and I got some fabric to make the outside of the teepee with. I've decided on a bit of a retro, green theme.


I apologise for the crappy photos, this seems to be becoming a recurring Saturday night theme (uploading bad photos, that is). So tonight I have put my dowels together in a teepee shape and measured the triangles and have drawn up a wee diagram. I'd love to get cutting and sewing tonight too, except my sewing machine is all packed away and it's 11:48pm and I'm off to a friend's wedding tomorrow, so I think just this once I shall have to be sensible and put the scissors and thread away for now. I am looking forward to working on my project during the week, though, I haven't really done anything creative in aaaages.

And now, for part two, and what else would I talk about on a Saturday night other than...wait for it... mushrooms! How cool is this?!

One week ago:

Two days ago:

Tonight!

Looks like it's the Portabello half which started before the white half. Chef D will be pretty happy about that; it's the brown Portabellos which he prefers. I think we might be picking the first of our mushroom in just a couple more days.

It's all about balance

So, here 'tis, that retro industrial 'item' that tickled my fancy at the trash 'n' treasure shop the other day (more trash than treasures, to be honest!). It's tag called it a 'balance board', though what it really is I have no idea (Google gives me nothing). It might even be something someone has created that has no real purpose at all. But who cares? I thought it was fun, and a little bit tongue-in-cheek, though probably not to every one's taste.




It needs some love, a good dusting for a start, and a bit ironically for something with 'balance' emblazoned in yellow across the front I think it needs a border to tuck it into itself a bit. We're going to box up the back of it (as the dials stick out quite a long way behind) and put it on the wall when our new room is finished. It might look a bit more like this dodgy MS Paint number I whipped up.


And while we were at this place, D was very taken with a pile of old servo numbers they had, so we bought two of them, and they'll go up on the walls as well. They're so bright!

Crafting update

As Winter closes in, crafting increases. I have been industriously knitting the cot quilt WIP and I think it's finally big enough. All the rows are stitched together, but I haven't yet tidied up all the loose threads. I am contemplating teaching myself to crochet from You Tube videos so I can make a bit of a border for it. Maybe. The irony is, since I started knitting the cot quilt several months ago, I don't think SP has slept in her cot more than once or twice! Still, I think she likes it anyway!



Another WIP, the front garden design, is nearing completion too. I am reasonably happy with it. I need to sit on it for a while and think about it.


And finally, not a WIP but craft related... I have finally sold a kid's quilt on Etsy! This green beauty will be winging it's way to the UK shortly.



Happy cold weather crafting, folks!
xx

The Rug WIP continues...

Just a little update tonight on the progress of the knitted cot-rug. I have completed five lovely colourful whole rows, only another, oh, 20 or so to go. You see, the size of each row is random and determined by my feelings about the project at the exact time I cast-on each new row. Do I feel like taking it slowly and making my 'squares' nice and wide? Or do I want to whip through colours with abandon? Therefore I know I have done about 1/5 of the total rug, but not how many rows I have left to knit. It's making knitting mysterious...
SP likes to 'help' me, looping the wool through her hands and around her shoulders, or upending the bag with all the wool skeins and distributing them around the room. She gets most upset when I won't let her run away with the needles (and half completed rows) because I don't want her to skewer herself with them. Ah, toddlers!
I have set a date for completion of the rug now, too. I'm hoping I will be all finished in time for winter.

WIP #2 continued

Slightly pointless post tonight, it could have waited until tomorrow, after all! But I wanted to make a note that WIP #2, the rug I am planning to enlarge, is underway and the balls of wool are becoming neat, flat, brightly coloured rows. Except I have ummed and ahhed over it, and muttered to myself, and rearranged the original rug and placed the one completed new row alongside it, and then turned it around ninety degrees and looked at it again, and you know what? I think I like the little rug just as it is. Therefore, I'm going to leave it alone and make a whole, brand new, bigger rug. Proper cot size this time, which should be a nice lap size as well. So there you go. The evolving WIP strikes again!

WIP #2

This one is not strictly a WIP, but more an extension on a previous project. 

You see, when I was pregnant with SP I made a knitted blanket. Actually that's not quite true. I'd already started the blanket well before being pregnant, but once she was on her way I found the impetus to actually finish it. Anyway, having not had much to do with babies before I made this lovely woolen blanket -multi coloured - which was a perfect newborn/bassinet size. 

Now I have a one year old child and we're heading into winter and I have realised it needs to be much, much bigger to fit her cot. So, long story short, I've bought a heap of wool so I can enlarge it. I got carried away, of course. I set my budget at $40 and spent $55, but all those jewel colours were too pretty to resist. 

Knitting is not my forte - I am limited to squares and rectangles - but I enjoy it nonetheless, and I am looking forward to spending these autumn evenings click, click, clicking away and making the pretty little blanket into a pretty, bigger blanket.

Our Masterpiece.

Lots of pictures, masses of them, in fact (over 30, you have been warned). Our baby's first cake was a triumph of Artist meets Chef. I don't want to be too smug, but we were pretty impressed with ourselves by the time it was finished. I made the cake (Strawberry flavoured, if you're not from the US you'll need to un-Americanise the recipe), D and I iced it together, taking turns with the fiddly bits and bickering over who got to do the black parts.

The inspiration was a doll given to SP by a friend when she was about 5 months old.

And strawberries, because our girl loves strawberries.

I had a play with some fondant.

And was very satisfied with my black icing.

SP supervised from the recycling basket.

I have never smoothed a cake batter down so thoroughly.

I cut out the pattern.

Enter Chef.

Steady Hands.

Supervisor-SP needed a better look.

Crumb layer.

Tracing the pattern.

Starting the tricky bit.

I recommend having a practise go with the piping bag before you begin.

Especially with the finer work.

Then you may start.

Gorgeous, lurid red.

Taking shape.

At 1:30am this morning...

Not bad!

D-Day. Or is that B-Day? Adding some finishing touches.

With her inspiration.

The fatal cuts.

Half gone already.

Dishing Up.

Taste test! Hmmm. It's not bad.

Love you, my most gorgeous birthday girl xx