Things That I made Today....

Another productive day here in the Davies' house, while the girls were finishing their breakfast (do all children take an age to eat or is it just mine?) I made a paper pattern for a handbag, an idea came to me. This is what I ended up with;




I think that it could perhaps be a bit fuller in the bottom and it needs a bit of tweaking but it's fully lined and I have stiffened the handles with plastic tubing, it looks really good. I like it, expect to see more in this style made from my amazing upholstery fabrics! While I did this the girls made a miniature seascape with some blue bubble-wrap at it's centre, quite cool.

Then we went into town to visit the post office and Poundland (for eBay packing materials) and had a good visit to The Works (bookshop) as they're closing down and lots of goodies are rather cheap. Then we went to see Lynsey and had some lunch, thanks Lyns!!

Home again mid afternoon to make a birthday card for the sister-in-law, then a brief walk to post it. Supervised Elizabeth making a card for her friend Ellie-Kay's birthday on Sunday.

I made this rather lovely mousy shirt for my niece, Mhairi, who will be 11 on Sunday. It came from my fabric finds of yesterday and it has a swirly whirly tail that goes round the back of the shirt;




Then I made this hot pink cord shoulder bag, with mouse, to put it in;




Finally I made this little oil skin number for Elizabeth to deliver Ellie-Kay's presents in;

I did also make a shepherd's pie but we ate that and I didn't take any pics!

Daisie xxx

The Craft Has Begun!!

The mad creative juices are well and truly flowing in the Davies' household!

Here is Elizabeth with a little gift type bag I made with a paper flower, needs a bit of refining but when an idea takes me I just have to go with it and see what happens;




I also said that the girls were doing things with CDs, well we have many creations but this is Elizabeth's (as it was the only one that would photograph) very OCD me thinks, wonder where she gets that from?! Pretty though and adds to all the things in my window that save me from cleaning them too often!!




Off now to cut and pin an idea I had for a handbag for a friend's up and coming birthday, aiming to sew it together tomorrow but I don't sleep very well when Simon's not here (will no doubt check the back door several times before settling) so it may be ready by morning, it's either that or the ironing!!

Night, Daisie xxx

Holidays

Blimey, can't believe it's been so long! Bad, bad blogger!!
The children are all at home, that's my excuse!
Simon is away now for a few days so there will be lots of creative happenings here and we won't be tutted at when we leave our stuff all over the place! The girls have already started doing things with CDs, pics will follow soon, I have no doubt!
Need to have a sort of my fabrics later as Elizabeth and I visited SAMS (a local organisation that recycles things from industry that would otherwise end up in land-fill sites) this morning and came back with lots of things; three huge cushions (in crap covers but that can soon be rectified), a pile of fabrics for handbags, dresses and anything else I feel inspired to make, some fancy paper, some black felt, some picture frames, some wool, felt circles, a phone charger (?) and far too many things to list......

Here are some of my most exciting fabric finds;

The prints are quite big as they are designed for children's soft furnishings so I may just use images from them to embellish garments instead of using them as my main fabric, we'll see!

As I said the girls are on holiday. We don't seem to have done very much but it's good just to have all my babies here with me.

We have, however, had fun in a tent;

And turned our tongues blue drinking slushies with our friends at a local play centre;

That's all for now folks!

Daisie xxx

A New Hybrid

My mate Lynsey made me (no, I think I remember offering) punch lots of little swirls from her business cards. The reason for this will become clear if you take a look at her blog. She's giving some away but I grabbed the ones I'd punched!

And this is what I made, a true craft hybrid, it's a Swirly Daisie!!!!



We spent today at the in-laws as Simon was fixing Grumpy's computer (not being a bad daughter-in-law, that's what we really call him) we did the rounds of the charity shops there but I came home with exactly nothing! Not happy! Am trying to talk Simon into a car boot tomorrow, provided it's not too cold or wet!

The children were given biscuits by Granny, that is what they're for after all, and here is Nathaniel with his little pinky up!! He must have known we were visiting the posh side of the family!!



And here's a pic to illustrate the point that you're never to young to start to nurture your creative flair;

Daisie xxx

Just A Quick One

Just a quick one today, unless anything exciting happens later!

Making shepherd's pie to take to my friend's house later, she's going to look after the girls while I go to Elizabeth's parents' evening. Then we're going to have tea there with them. A bit worried as to what the teacher will have to say this time, not sure why, we'll soon see!

Just wanted to show you these lovely pictures I took of Nathaniel after playgroup on Tuesday. He would normally have a snooze in the morning but playgroup is just so exciting, he looks at all the other children, sings songs, claps hands, has water and a snack. It really tires him out and he usually falls asleep in the sling before I've even left the place. He did this week before I'd even stacked my chair away! I then walked to the bakers for Francesca's lunchtime treat now that she's too big for playgroup :-( and on down to nursery, collected Francesca, I put him into his car seat, and got him out again at home and just dropped his sleeping form onto the dining room sofa in the hope that he would stir and join us for lunch.

Needless to say he didn't make it to lunch but did wake up for an afternoon snack!!

Daisie xxx

From Yucky to Yummy

'There's a funny smell in the kitchen,' said Simon this morning, so when Nathaniel was having a snooze this morning I got down on all fours and decided to investigate the source of said smell.

We only have a very tiny kitchen and we have legs on the bottom of our cupboards (not a foot board like most other people). This makes the kitchen look bigger, don't ask me how but it does, and it's a great place to stash the stuff that we buy in bulk; cat food, washing-up liquid, orange juice cartons etc. The smell was definitely worse at floor level but I only have ordinary length arms so I went in search of a broom. Found one, back on the floor, glad no one came to call as it probably wasn't the best view in the world, me with bum in air grunting and flailing around with a broom. I managed to sweep out this;




A hair bobble, a triangular brick from a teaching clock (been looking for that for ages), Barbie's bicycle helmet, lots of bits of paper, a knackered orange felt pen with no lid, twenty pence (woo-hoo, we're rich) and I found what I believe was making the smell, if you look in the centre of the pic you'll see it too, a red pepper, or at least I think it used to be a red pepper! Ugh! There were also many grapes in various stages on their journey to becoming raisins, they can't have helped the aroma much!

Nathaniel awoke so off I trotted to fetch him downstairs, he sat beside the washing machine laughing at me while I swept my broom around one last time before filling the mop bucket. I found this;




A half squashed tin can, probably jumped from under my foot when being squished to go in the recycling box (they do that) must have said to myself that I'd pull it out later and didn't, a Barbie handbag, an empty water bottle (?), a toy motor bike thingie, and best of all a box of beer that still had two bottles left inside! It was worth it after all!! Don't know how long they've been there but they're going down quite well.

After collecting Francesca from nursery school and mopping my new empty under cupboard space, it's gleaming now, I decided to have a play with some of my nice papers. Francesca loves to help but some of her paper combinations were just scary, we compromised on some but the combinations were mainly mine (she just thought they were hers) and this is what we ended up with;

Quite pleased with these, am off now to drink beer and pack these lovely cards ready for sale and then off to bed to do some knitting, it has been somewhat neglected of late, Lynsey's book has inspired me again but I think she'll have a long wait for a gnome!!!

Daisie xxx

Daisy And Her Needles

What a good day I had yesterday, Nathnaiel and I set off to playgroup via the post office (which wasn't great but that's a story for another day) and had a lovely time, he clapped his hands at singing time, such a proud Mummy I was!!! While we were there I got a text from Lynsey to say that she'd bought me a present, oooh the excitement could be felt in the air!

So after we collected Elizabeth from school we went on over to get my prezzie, no we were going anyway (honest!!!) as I'd boguht a present for her too (spooky). Am sure if you visit her blog she may have mentioned it. My present was a book called 'Daisy And Her Needles' by Keith Balding. The pictures are fab and what have I just learned to do...knit!!!!

It goes like this....

'When Daisy got out her needles the world began to change,
She knitted a fire,
She knitted her tea,
She knitted her husband



And she knitted me.

When Daisy got out her needles the world became woolly.
She knitted some books,
she knitted a view,
she knitted a crossing,
She knitted a Ewe.

As Daisy worked hard at her needles the world began to soften.
She knitted a garden,
She knitted a gnome,
She knitted a prize,
She knitted a home.

She knitted a scene from an avant-garde ballet,




She knitted a clock in the shape of a chalet,
She knitted a plate with a birthday cake on it,
She knitted a cat with a bonnet upon it,
She knitted a tree with apples all rosy,
And just for a change another tea cosy,



Daisy has knitted and this book is full, so she's busily knitting some new balls of wool.'

Wish I could show you all the pictures but I'd be here all week, may put some in later posts because they are just sooooo cool!! Thanks Lyns!!

Daisie xxx