my creative space, embellished

Ooh its been a while since I last hung out here. I hope I still have the knack.

So this week, for a change, there has been plenty of creativity going on, and its mostly been coffee table printing. Great fun as the two year old can actually join in.

First off the rank; a printed onesie for the 4 month old bubba. The onesie we were given as a gift, so I spiced it up a little with a simple monster print. Print done using a contact cut out (you know that stuff you use to cover school books). A not too scary blue monster for the little man.

And for the little lady, some cheap plain t-shirts from target, transformed into one off pieces with a bit of scrapbooking lacy paper used as stencils.

I've been scouring scrapbook shops for cool cut out papers that can be used for screen printing. All you need to do is use spray adhesive (washable) to attach the lace paper securely to the garment, then paint with fabric paint over the top. Peel off the stencil whilst the paint is still wet and; instant screen print. This one was made with lace paper.

The next one was created with a cut out border paper. First I sewed a circle of patterned fabric to the t shirt to add a different effect. Then printed in white over the top. It kind of looks like a big round moon (albeit pink) in the background.
I've still got two t-shirts left to embellish, so any ideas are welcome. We've certainly had fun with our coffee table printing so far.

Time to go make myself (firstly some time - any crafty ideas on how to whip some of this up?) a coffee and sit back and peruse the inspiring creativity that is around. Looking forward to it! Head on over to Kirsty's for more creative spaces.

The 2 x 2hr wedding outfit challenge

Last weekend we had a lovely time at my cousin's wedding. It was on the Saturday which was a pearler of a day. Leading up to the big event, I realised I didn't have an outfit, and we also needed something for the little one to wear too - it was her first wedding! Of course I realised all this only four days before the wedding, and ingeniously (!!) decided that, instead of hitting the shops, I would check out my stash and see if I could pull together a couple of dresses before the big event.

Despite the short timeline. Despite the fact I had to find time to make them during baby sleeps, and when I was able to organise something to entertain the two year old. Despite the fact the poor little button fell asleep on my knee in front of the sewing machine whilst sewing. And I was just thinking she was mesmerised by my sewing skills. Despite the fact I didn't have enough material to complete the dress cut on the bias so I had to rummage around to find some matching plain black to match (which I did!) Despite all this, we ended up with these two numbers which I was very happy with.

A wedding outfit for a two year old:

And a dress for me!

Mine was a very cheap fabric I picked up about 6 months ago. Whilst the fabric was not-so-nice polyester, I really loved the grey stripes with the hit of chartreuse. The pattern was New Look 6778 (easy 2 hour!!). I changed the pattern slightly by cutting the fabric on the bias so it sat really nicely when on. Although the pics don't show it, the stripe patterns matched up perfectly at the two side seams, which was completely unintentional. It definitely took more than two hours (and not just because I was also trying to keep the baby happy and stop the toddler from being completely bored.

And I have to say, I love this dress. If felt so lovely on; it sat nicely, it was flowy rather than figure hugging (a good thing at the moment...), and it was awesome to dance in. I sort of felt a bit 80's in it, but I have not been so happy in a dress for a long time. I hope to get a lot more wear out of this one.

The sweet little pinafore was based on Simplicity 3853 (It's so easy!!), however I changed this pattern too by excluding the sleeves and changing the shoulders to add buttons for a pinafore look rather than the button opening at the back. The bright yellow, hot pink and white looked really bright and pretty together.

So that was my challenge, successfully completed! Perhaps not in 2 hours each, but happily completed nonetheless. Now I just need another fancy event where we can wear them...

broody knitted jacket

My lovely Mum used to knit back in the day. However her last WIP was started around 30 years old - a cable knit jumper (actually a cardigan) for my Dad. It is dark and light brown and rather 80's so I can't imagine that Dad would ever wear it even if it was finished.

So our entire family was rather impressed when she knitted her first completed project in 30 years for her little granddaughter last year. Then, we were even more impressed this year when she whipped up this little number with a matching beanie for her this year. It is absolutely gorgeous (or is it just the cute little one that wears it?). The jacket flares out a little at the bottom and the front edges are shorter than the back.

It got plenty of wear over the winter, as the little one walked and ran regularly along the river pathway near our house. And although it was often pulled off when she got too hot from all the running, my little one loved it. And she knew it was knitted by her Nanna. She especially loved the pom pom beanie, the result of which is that every hat is now called a "pom-om". So whilst I can't knit myself (just haven't ever learnt), I am very lucky to have a mother that does such a wonderful job. Thanks Mum!