The Mini Artist.

Hi again :)

With Spring in the air, we have had some really lovely, warm weather during the last week. It was the perfect opportunity to take my little boy outside and let him get messy with some finger paints. The last time he gave it a try, the weather was on the chilly side and he was about five months younger (he is 17 mths old now). We put him in the shower with a canvas on the floor, squirted some paint on there and let him go.  I was interested to see what he would do, and what he would create, now that he was older.

Well, he was certainly adept at putting his hands in the paint - good start - but being a few months older (and not trapped in a shower recess), he is now a lot more curious and once he'd gotten his hands all messy, he wanted to touch everything but the cardboard. So I had to assist him a little, and fast, and then he went off with painty hands and buried a crayon in the pot plant :)

In one of my previous posts, I made a birthday card for my niece's 5th birthday. You can see that birthday card here. Along with her cat obsession, she really loves her little cousin Massimo so I decided we would make his work of art into an additional birthday present.

Here is our group effort...

I have been wanting to do more with frames and fabric, especially felt and quilting material. This frame combines both of these, with my son's artwork as the centrepiece. 

Frame by Unigift 4x6"

Quilting fabric by Fabric Palette

Felt purchased at Spotlight

Card stock by Kaisercraft (ballet)

Paint by Tim and Jess
Apologies for the reflection....

Pretty colours by little fingers. 

The Mini Artist having a swing after his 30 seconds of creativity :) 

I made his little smock out of a piece of calico - just folded it in half and cut a circle for his head to pop through. Worked a treat and no sewing!

I plan on experimenting further with frames and fabric, just for something different and to stock up my Etsy store (which is not yet up and running). 

Coming up soon, some generic cards for little guys or big boys. 

Thanks for dropping by :)

Abs

Happy Birthday!

Hi again :)

When I was little, my mum started a bit of a tradition - without even realising it. Every year, usually the night before my birthday, either in person or over the phone (when I was older) she would say..."tomorrow you'll wake up and you'll be 10! (or whatever age I was going to be) And you'll never be 9 again!". As a child, that's kind of exciting. You always want to grow up, be older and do the things you can't or aren't allowed to do. So when I was younger, this statement was met with excitement. However, once it started including numbers in the late 20's and then a couple in the thirties, this was met with less excitement and more...I don't know what....to be honest I now have to stop and think of my age. Firstly because my mum is no longer here to tell me, and secondly because time just seems to be going at a million miles an hour. That's life huh? Literally.

Early next month my youngest niece turns five. Five years old. Her whole life is just five years old. It doesn't seem all that long, does it. I am struggling to remember my fifth birthday. I don't have any photos of it to remind me. I think it may have been the year I had a Cookie Monster cake. Not sure. I also had a Cookie Monster cake when I turned twenty-one...no joke :)

My niece loves cats. To the point where they now just relent and go all floppy when she picks them up and drags them to where-ever :) Last year I made her a card with "cat" paper and some furry embellishments. This year I made another cat card using the scraps.

And here's a picture...

Card stock by American Crafts - not sure of the colour as it was a scrap.

Paper by Pebbles Inc, "Cat's Meow" & "Cat-i-tude". 

Ink by Versa Color (Paprika) and a pretty red from my stash.

Mini stick on lettering by Kaisercraft.

Corrugated card from my scrap box.

Tapestry yarn by DMC #801.

Buttons purchased at Spotlight.

I used a piece of corrugated cardboard as a backing as it reminded me of a scratching post :)

Some cute buttons and yarn for a bit of detail - or something for my niece to pick off :)

And a little something for the inside.

I hope she likes it. I'm very much looking forward to her birthday party. It's a Gymnastics Party! I might even manage a cartwheel or two :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Abs

Little Robot Tank

Welcome back :)

Just wanted to show you something quickly.

A few weeks ago when I was at Spotlight wishing I was a fantastic seamstress (I am far, far, far from this), I came across loads of adorable iron on transfers - the far, far, far from being a seamstress' dream!

Today when I dropped my son off at Nanna's for an afternoon visit, she gave me some summer clothes she had bought for him. Included in the bundle was a cute, plain blue tank top. A-hah! As my next stop was Spotlight (one of my hangouts when I am on my own - how wild), this was the perfect opportunity to buy an iron on transfer and pretend I had sewn it on! Hurrah!

I know it's not all that exciting for most, but here is the before...

 

And the after...

 



Beep-dee-beep! How cute!

And super easy - once I located the iron...not much of an ironer either :)

 

Tank top by Target

Iron on transfer (Odyssey) by Beutron.

 

I am very much looking forward to the warmer weather, not just for my sanity but to make more of these!

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Abs

 

 

 



Happy Birthday Pop.

Welcome back :)

So, as suspected, I was madly finishing my Dad's birthday present this morning...as he was coming over at 1pm. At least this year I had a genuine reason for cutting it fine instead of just being disorganised. Our little boy had to have minor surgery last week which was not really expected. That meant all craftiness was put on the back burner until he was feeling better. He is soooo much happier now which is a great relief.

Here's how Dad's present turned out...

Ta-Dah! Happy Birthday Pop!

Frame by Treasured Memories.

Paper, "Snips & Snails" by Doodlebug Design Inc.

Chipboard lettering and paint (navy blue & grass green) by Kaisercraft.

Buttons purchased at Spotlight.

Ribbon purchased at Paper Flourish.

A nice pile of loose buttons and snips of ribbon at the bottom of the frame...also, if any of the others happen to fall off, it won't be so obvious :)

How fun! And Dad really liked it. I'll definitely be making more shadow box frames down the track. Lots of possibilities. Next project: to finish my friend's album...at the rate I'm going, her daughter will be at school before it's finished....

Thanks for dropping by :)

Abs.