Pebble heart ornament

I found this image on Pinterest about six months ago and fell in love with it.  I pinned it on my"Things to Make" board thinking that one day I would make one.

Original idea, instructions and photos http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/project/wire-and-stone-heart/

Last week I had an urge to be creative and decided it was the day to attempt making my own pebble heart ornament.  The cloth on the table is a waterproof one I've had in the cupboard for years for when the girls had very messy play activities when they were little.  The wire was bought months ago with this project in mind.  I borrowed hubby's tin snips and pliers and used some of my jewellery making tools as well.

 I made a template of a heart by drawing around a heart shaped cake tin.

 I struggled to make this piece of wire submit into the heart shape I wanted.

 

 I wrapped some small chicken wire around the heart and then started putting the pebbles in.  The chicken wire was salvaged from the neighbour's nature strip during a hard rubbish collection.

Here is the end result of several hours of work.  I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Anne  xx

My week

Last weekend our family travelled to Bendigo to see my niece perform in her school production of Les Miserables.  

 My niece pictured below played the role of Eponine.  We were amazed and wowed by her singing voice and acting abilities.  The whole production was fantastic with the music performed by a combination of teachers and students from the school.

We stayed the night with my brother and sister-in-law and were treated to an incredible brunch including this platter of wonderful fruit,  followed by hot drinks and this yummy orange drizzle cake made by a family friend also staying over.

  

 The late night proved just a bit too much for Miss Genevieve who snuggled under this gorgeous quilt made by my sister-in-law.

 

 After brunch I went for a stroll out in the garden and discovered the family cat Mr. Mistoffelees sunning himself.

 

On the drive back to Melbourne we past Hanging Rock a former volcano.  This isn't a very good photo, it's much more interesting formation up close and personal.

Monday was my sister's birthday so we decided to go to the Acorn Nursery, one of our favourite places to visit where we can not only enjoy the flowers and plants for sale but the wonderful food at the cafe and wandering around the gorgeous gift shop.

I made this birthday card for my sister.

Hubby has been working on tidying up part of our back yard where our bins are kept.  We have pavers from previous projects available to use as the base.

While he was moving dirt he came across this Land Crayfish which I've blogged about before.  Our chook made short work of him and was gobbled up in seconds.

I've been working on some more illustrations/sketches for card making purposes.  It's such an enjoyable thing to do but I really must get back to my oil painting which has been somewhat neglected the past few months.

The creative pursuits certainly helps keep me calm during times of worry.  My Dad spent some time in hospital a week or so ago as he was having problems breathing.  He is home now and has oxygen available to him when he needs it.  It is sad for me to see this once strong farmer unable to do very much anymore due to his health but am so happy he is in good spirits and I get to speak to him everyday on the phone.  With my Dad not well, Mum is basically doing much of the work that use to be shared between them which is tiring for her.  Not that she is complaining, she never has or will and is so appreciative to be able to care for him.

My sister and family are visiting them in a week or so to be followed by hubby and Charlotte early November and then when Genevieve has finished exams, she and I will visit in late November, early December.  I am indeed very fortunate to be able to visit so frequently not only to see them but to help where I can.

I hope you all have a lovely week ahead and thank you so much for stopping by.

Anne  xx

Bunting Ta Dah!

Good morning, how are you today?  All is well here, the sun is shining, the garden is looking happy after rain and I've finished my bunting and it's hanging in it's new home.

Remember these little hearts, I made them to sew onto the bunting.

I'm very happy how the bunting turned out and elated to have finished a project so quickly.  The bunting pattern can be found at Heather's love blog Pink Milk.

Unfortunately my photos don't show the colours of the yarn I used very well, but it's vibrant and I love it.

Thanks for stopping by and having a peek.


Anne  xx

Flaked out

What would you expect a cat to do in hot weather, find the coolest spot in the house?!   If I were a cat I would probably choose to sit on a window sill or in a doorway where the breeze is likely to come in.  Perhaps lie down on a tiled or wooden floor, surfaces that are cooler than a chair, mat or bed.  Well this is how Stripey chose to cool off last night. 

On the ironing board!  Absolutely no breeze was happening in the laundry so I have no idea why he thought it was such a great place to flake out in the heat.  And no, the iron wasn't on.

In other news, I've been fiddling around with bits and pieces of crochet.

Things are being blocked and ends woven in.  Claire from Sweet Birdy Love
can probably guess what I'm up to as she pointed me in the direction of the lovely blog Pink Milk and am I having fun!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend,

Anne  xx

Creating

Last night I was itching to get creative but as it was so hot I didn't feel like pulling out the crochet.  So instead I delved into my jewellery making supplies and made this necklace.

I bought the components, the pendant part and leather ribbon from a craft supply store and just put them together.  Easy really and the total cost was about $5.00.  I found a little brown cardi the other day which looks rather well with my new necklace I think.

The pendant has little bells on the bottom so I can't sneak around when I'm wearing it, my family hear me coming.  :)

I forgot to show you this beautiful vase my Mum passed onto me when I was home in December.

It's Brentleigh Ware - Norfolk and beautifully made.  I'm looking forward to putting some grapevine leaves in this vase in the autumn.  I think the autumnal colours will look gorgeous together.

So tell me, what do you do creatively when the weather is hot?  I'd love to know.

Anne  xx

New winter socks

When I started teaching myself to crochet last July, I never imagined I would be able to make socks.  But I can and I did.

As I was experimenting, I didn't want to use good quality yarn so I bought a 100g ball of acrylic yarn at the Reject Shop for $2.00, not quite using the whole ball.  The yarn is 8 ply and I used 4.0mm crochet hook.   The yarn isn't particularly soft but as an experiment, I am very pleased with the results. I found the pattern for the socks here.

I learnt how to crochet a rib effect for the upper part of the socks, how to make a heel (next time I'll increase the heel by a couple of rows) and shaping by decreasing stitches.

 I worked on the first sock over a period of three days as I wasn't really sure what I was doing.  The second sock took about 3 hours to make, not all at one sitting though.  Now that I can make a decent sock, I might just buy some lovely wool yarn to make a really comfy pair.  

Have a lovely day/evening,

Anne  xx

P.S.  If you are going to have a crack at making these socks, just to let you know that I started off with 40 chain instead of 30 as I wanted a longer sock.

Another cushion cover

I've fallen in love with sewing all over again and just had to make another cushion cover.  This time it's for a cushion on the sofa in what we call the chill out room.  Basically it was a room originally destined to be a dining room on our house plans but has evolved into being a space for a desktop computer, a clothes airing area, sofa bed for overnight guests, bookcases etc.  Back to the cushion cover.

I found the fabric at Spotlight in the remnant bin for 50 cents.  It is a good quality fabric and I love the colours and pattern.  This was such an easy cover to make and once again I decided to hand stitch the button holes.  I was thinking about how I would style this photo and our other cat Bungee solved the problem for me.  :)

The reverse side and Bungee's back.

Making the buttonholes.

Bungee being cute and stealing the show.

Have a lovely day everyone,

Anne  xx

TARDIS pencil case reveal and "Ode To a Mosquito-less Night"

I guess by now you will have realised that Miss G. is somewhat quirky in personality.  Remember this post
where I showed you TARDIS pencil case production in progress.  Here is the BIG REVEAL!!!!!

Here are some more photos of production in no particular order.

Miss G. used a bead for the police box light.

A jewellery finding was used for the door handle.

It's turned out to be a rather big pencil case, one that won't squash down easily in a school bag. 
 So it will be left in her school locker and used at class time only.  She has a lot more patience than I would have had.  Then again, I'm not obsessed with Dr. Who like she is.  :)

Another one of Miss G.'s passions is poetry writing.  She came up with this after two nights of an irritating mosquito in her room.  They are rather partial to her blood.

Ode to a Mosquito-less Night


Where, mosquito, should you be
In the depth of night
When you come to visit me
Drawn towards my light?

Though I try and try to sleep
My efforts come to nought
You have not even the grace to creep
When you cut the quiet sought

Of every region in the land
You had to choose my bed
The fault is yours if you meet my hand
When whining round my head!

And of every hour in the day
Tis night in which you feast
I'm sorry it must be this way
But you would disturb my peace

So, mosquito, you've been warned
I'd rather not awake
To big red spots my face adorned
When the dawn does break!

By Miss G.
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I will be visiting my parents and brother in Western Australia for about a week and a half, leaving this Sunday.  So that means I probably won't be posting.  I might get in a comment or two if Mum's computer can cope.  Hopefully I will have some photos to share with you on my return but until then, take care everyone,

Anne xx