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A Pirate Captain and Wild Thing


This was my creative space last week, really - I made this 'Pirate Captain Jacket' from scraps for Ash to dress up in, and a three-point pirate hat from black felt. Trimmed with recycled silks from Desert Bloom. It's quite easy to make, I read this tutorial awhile back and just winged it from there. Then right before dress-up day I made him brown leggings with woodgrain pattern very roughly machine-stitched down one calf. He wore them underneath some pants that already had torn across the knee, so I just tore the leg right off, LOL. With a shirt and a brown velvet sash tied around his waist he looked very pirate-y indeed. At the time we couldn't find any of his pirate patches or his pirate hook, but he didn't really need them.

Now he insists these are not actually dress ups, but just clothes. His clothes, for wearing. Whenever. Hehe.


On Monday evening I also made Jude a wild thing costume out of bits and pieces around the house - a mask (made like a sort of balaclava), wrist warmers with claws and a tail (attached to a button-fastened belt). He had wanted to dress up as 'Carol' from the movie of Where the Wild Things Are and looked really cute as a monster! The furry bits are actually from a pack of black feathers, from our random stash of crafty stuff. It's hard to see but the feathers are also at the end of the tail. It was quite fun to make up :)

Scrapping out of the Boxx

Here are a few pages I've done lately for Scrapboxx bits and pieces - this one (above) was for the cybercrop, my challenge was to use the film poster for 'Roman Holiday' to inspire the colours for a layout, and also to use a silhouette-cut photo. This cute impromptu family pic of Kell, Roh, Alannah and Jude is from last August. Now, of course, there are five members of their family ;)


This brief was to be inspired by Fauvism, so I based my layout on the colour and design of Matisse's painting 'Harmony in Red'.



This last one was the sketch feature in the latest Boxx newsletter, and was designed just for fun ;) And then I made a sketch out of it! That's always good. Plus, Cedar is really cute in that photo.

Days 6 to 9, Germany and Denmark

Day 6 - Local wandering through the snow... I love it. Cedar's first tooth cut through!

Day 7 - Today we did photo booth photos, Cedar and I first, then me & Sylvia :) We went to Marketstrasse and that area, looking in shops along the way and stopping in a really cute and cosy little cafe. I bought a cute knit dress for Sienna...

Day 8 - In a German car, driving through Denmark and on the Danish radio station they play the song by NZ band Crowded House "Always take the weather with you, Everywhere you go, always take the weather..." We are staying in a village by the sea called Stroby Ladeplads.


Day 9 - Copenhagen. Yes! Amazing!

Painting doors, furniture and stuff like that

A few changes around our lounge room - the wall between the kitchen and lounge has this big framed photo now. It previously had a Babar poster in Ash's room but Ash wanted the painting from the bathroom instead... so we did some switching around!

The teal doors are the latest burst of colour, Sienna's has a silhouette design left blank and our bedroom door has a sort of hand-drawn frame design. It's not actually finished yet, hehe.


Here you can see the new tv cabinet and coffee table I picked up from ebay (nice and cheap!). I really wanted a lighter, warmer colour furniture for a change and for the tv to be lower, which meant a shorter tv cabinet. Am very happy with the pieces I found :)


A bit of Totoro on the mantle, just for fun...

This week around here is about sewing, cookies, ventolin (for me), dress up day at kinder (for Ash) and a lovely guest arriving on Wednesday for some downtime. Yay!

Now we are one

Mr Cedar. One year and five days old. Well, technically four and a half days I guess, LOL. His birth is recent enough that the evening part of it is still relevant, or so I am going to claim... He had his Child Health Nurse check this morning and weighed in at 9.79kg and is 76cm long. Interesting comparison, Ash had his 12 month check a couple of weeks earlier than Cedar (comparatively I mean, Ash's check was 12 days before he turned one, Cedar's is 5 days after turning one) and Ash weighed in at 9.7kg and 76cm. So, basically the exact same measurements! We may just have another strong one...



Hmm, what else. Cedar has 8 teeth, and has had them all for a couple of months at least. He is a great eater and puts away more than Ash at dinnertime (granted, the evening meal is not one of Ash's strengths). Loves the bath, loves to be picked up - but doesn't cuddle much, just looks around and pats you, alternates between having one nap a day and two naps, loves bopping along to music and "sings" along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He still has a sort of bum shuffle - imagine kneeling, then sitting your bottom down with your knees in front of you at an angle. In that position, he leans forward and uses his hands to drag himself around.


He stands up with support or in his cot. He claps a lot, to get picked up or when he is happy. He laughs in excitement if he sees his drink of milk being prepared, and totally cracks it if you don't give it to him straight away. He pulls his hats off. And socks, every time. He is getting to be size 1 in most clothes, depending on the brand of course. He isn't remotely interested in television of any kind - including Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, which the other kids still enjoy now and then. Sienna and Ash make him laugh, and he loves the cats too.

He always tries to play with the dishwasher when we are stacking or unloading, and always goes into the corner cupboard and pulls out saucepan lids and cake tins. He throws food on the floor. He broke the lid on his new water bottle by throwing it with great force from a shopping trolley. He flaps his hands when excited or stressed. He shakes his head when told 'no', or 'don't touch'.He loves shaking his water bottle so that the water comes out. He loves books, and is always trying to get to the technology, to whack the laptop or eat the remote control and/or mobile phone.

Also, he is awesome.

Reuse and move stuff

I picked this desk up for $10 from a garage sale around the corner. That was awhile ago, it has enjoyed life as a desk / dumping ground in our bedroom for my crafty stuff. Anyhow, one of my rearranging episodes included plans to upgrade Sienna from a kids IKEA table to a decent sized desk. In my thriftiness this involved renovating MY old garage sale desk for the purpose - yay!

First step, paint the whole thing white with water based semi-gloss enamel house paint. A couple of coats. Second step, layer vintage sheet music over the top of the desk. Step three is to lay a sheet of plastic cut to (roughly) the same size over the top. I got it from Bunnings already at *almost* the right size, so saved money by not getting custom cut. The beauty of that part of the desk is that Sienna can customise her desk herself as time goes by. If she can see it, that is. It's been a week or so and it is currently laden with puzzles, hair clips, paper, feathers and lego.

The project was based on a Real Living article from awhile ago about how to reinvent tables, if anyone wants to know more, let me know and I'll find out which issue it was from ;)

Latest Scrapbook Creations

Colour team layout, Honey and Grape. I found this one difficult and ended up with a last minute 'thrown together' style which wasn't such a bad thing ;)


I loved making this one - muslin and gel medium on a die cut paper. Rub-ons, vintage sheet music, alphabet stickers, silhouetted photo and doodling... lots of my favourite things!

The greatest secrets

 
Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.
-Roald Dahl

Dream.Create.Inspire... art retreat and I

I have been invited to be part of this fabulous art retreat in March 2011. Hosted by the lovely Jodi Mann of Q Tea Kits, the details are...

An inspirational {art} retreat for soul sisters and creative hearts!
Please join me for a very special creative weekend away with a small and intimate group of creative girls who will inspire and enrich you and your creative soul.

This art retreat with a difference will take place in the gorgeous Byron Bay where we will be staying at idyllic Byron Bay Manor.

The retreat will be limited to 16 gorgeous souls so there will be plenty of space to {relax}, unwind, {create}, inspire, {connect} and dream.
All queen or twin rooms (your roommate will have been carefully chosen) have their own bathroom and in addition the house has solar heated swimming pool and spa.

Inclusions:
Twin Share Accommodation with your own bathroom
All meals from Friday Lunch to Sunday Lunch
One-on-One photo session with Danielle Quarmby and disk of photos
Retreat Workshop with Ngaire Bartlam (details yet to be finalised)
A photo book memento of your fabulous weekend away
Goodie Bag with {at least} $50 worth of goodies inside….

When: Friday 18th, Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th March 2011
Where: Byron Bay Manor.
Cost: $450 per person

There are just six five spots left! You can email me at danielle@curiouser.com.au for a registration form and details, or contact Jodi for the same and to reserve your spot... Maybe I'll photograph you there :)

Taylor and Scarlett engagement session

Sneaky peeks from a cute session I did this afternoon... these guys are friends of ours and are getting married in four weeks. Very sweet!