AJ's Antics

You know those people that can put together a whole heap of stuff and make it look like Art ? Well I have a few on line friends of the Arty variety and they can do it with ease. So why am I writing about Art  Journaling? Well because they challenged me to do it. You see Anna at TillyTom   had a pop-up sale on her Facebook page  (sale still on!!) where Miss Dove was buying a lovely little Stationary bundle, and with my nicest manners I asked Hubby if I could have one to. Somehow, although I don't think it was my fault, Car ended up with one also. Then apparently according to the 'rules' when 3 people have the same craft supplies a challenge to create something must begin. So Saturday afternoon it is and low and behold I have completed the challenge on time. One Art Journal page using only the crafty supplies from TillyTom + 1 other medium. I chose a pile of scrap booking papers. I had a great idea in the shower a few days ago and it h...

I've been waiting for ages to start....I just didn't really know how or where to start. But last night I just jumped right in and printed out the first block. G7 - The centre block - Indianapolis I couldn't find any reds in my stash that I liked. I was going to resort to fussy cutting a christmas print to use the red, but instead found a left over bunting flag that had the red that I wanted. I unpicked the and the 2 triangles were just enough to make the block pieces. There are 25 pieces in this block. The first 4 were stitched together while watchign the lastest Bond movie 'Skyfall' with Hubby as has become our usual Saturday night after the small one has gone to bed. It is going to take me 4.3 years of Saturday nights to finish the 225 blocks in this quilt. That is if each block only take 1 weekend.....they wont. So I'm giving myself a generous 10 years to finish this quilt! My really happy with my first attempt at hand stitching and I can...

I don't know why it took me so long to find this book . It is a novel about War told from a very unusual angle. It took a little while for me to warm up to the unusual writing style but it is fabulous and whilst I didn't cry at the end (I was in the dentist's waiting room with Aden!!) the places it takes your mind and thoughts is....well scary and sad. I'll be passing this on to both my Mum and sister. I think they will enjoy it too. HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH. It's a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist...

Another Blogger Boogie fail...sorry Miss Dove !!! I'll try better for next week! Today was a lovely day for bike riding. I was stuck inside with a tummy bug and writing report card comments. These songs were ringing in my head....get it....RING RING!!

You know that friend that you can not see for weeks and then your 'free day' aligns and you manage a catch up and a girly chat, while the kids play at your feet, and it is like you were talking to them just yesterday? I have one of those and she is kinda special. I wish we had more free time to catch up, although we are now a car trip apart rather than a plane flight  and we do get to see each other more than we used to we still don't get to visit often enough for my liking! I was lucky enough to be one of her bridesmaids and if I didn't have so many sisters she would have been there for me too (I regret that a little. I should have made room for her too...sorry xx) We share our lives, our ups and downs. We share our children when we visit and treat each others kids like our own. We share similar parenting styles (boys will be boys!) and we love to have a laugh and a gossip! Today is her birthday and sadly it is not a 'free day' for either of us and ...

Thanks for your help with the fabric choices for my weekender bag. I've gone with the first option, one of my favourites from Kate Spain! Of course I can never follow a pattern properly and started arse-about with the lining! After reading many blog posts on the weekender bag and talking to some of my favourite experts in the sewing field, I felt that internal elastic pockets on both side were the way to go. I like the little zippered ones people are adding too but I think the elastic open pockets will be more useful to us. I used  Summer House by Lily Ashbury for the lining. Each of the internal pockets are a simple rectangle about 10" x 24", folded over 1/4 inch twice, to make a casing for 3mm elastic. Gathering stitches added to the bottom to pull it in. Iron a fold down the centre of each piece to match them up and pin all the way around. I sew my basting stitches very close to the raw edge so that it won't be seen in the final seam and I use a regular ...

I totally had my work cut out for me to get these done in time! Three 2am finishes in a row saw them all done......just! It was all my fault though I couldn't decide if we actually needed to go dressed up and then at the last possible moment, while in Spotlight, I decided yes we should! The $5 pattern sale certainly helped! I'm super happy with how the boys outfits turned out but mine was a bit of a flop....well the hat definitely was! The instructions didn't even make sense so I winged it and was disappointed with the results. If I ever have to wear this again (or if anyone wants you borrow it you're welcome) I'll be making a cardboard hat and covering it in fabric to get the same look. Despite 3 weeks or more of trying to convince Aden is go as a dragon to fit in with the 'Fairy Tale theme' he wouldn't budge. He had to go as a dinosaur!   He did make a pretty cute Dinosaur and had a great time playing/fighting with his cousin til ...