AJ's Antics

You might be getting a little bored of this 3 weeks in a row...but well that is all I have time for at the moment...a stolen few minutes here and there.  I did promise you something different over the weekend....but well I'm not going to beat myself up about not getting to it. 4.5 hours getting Aden's toys, clothes, books and whole room back in order was a priority....it was getting to 'trash heap' levels. So I've started adding a 3rd colour. A lovely red. But here is what I have learnt this week.....always always always triple check your pattern! It took me until row 8 to go back and look again at the tutorial I'm following for this blanket and what did I find...I've been doing the ends wrong the WHOLE time. I was going to frog it (again) but well.... I want this finished not perfect. I can handle one end being a little wonky. I'll just make sure that end is at the bottom of the bed! I'm still not sure I've got it 100%...

Jumping in again with The Little White Dove (click on the image above to find her) for a WIP Wednesday post!  I showed this to my online crocheting experts through the week... I knew it didn't look right. And after a few visuals I realised the only way to 'fix' it was to undo it all.  4 and a bit rows....back to just 1.... I probably could have saved the last bit and wasn't paying enough attention when I was frogging it (new lingo...does it sound like I know what I'm talking about??) and so pulled out more than I really needed to but....I'm enjoying the process so much that after winding all the wool back up, I started again.  Apparently it is back on track. Hoping I can keep it that way and you will see some more progress next week. The weekend is looking clear of commitments so hopefully I can get some crafting done on some long overdue projects as well!

What a fabulous place to be. And what made it even better was the beyond fabulous people that were waiting for me when I got there....extra baggage and all. We were welcomed with open arms to this island getaway for a weekend of relaxing, chatting, eating and just a little bit of crafting. No Mum I won't get wet! I can't say enough thanks to my crafting friends who showed love, acceptance and true friendship. And of course enabling.....after a number of colour shuffles and umming and aring  the rainbow of wool was decided upon. And then after some more food, laughter and strolling along the beach. I decided to get crafting....well sort of. I got the basics from Kitten and then mulled over it for a while and a while more.... A brithday party, some family time and then it was time to get serious. I watched this YouTube clip a number of times and read over this blog post a hundred times and then finally I could see some success! 15 mins here and...

Be warned....this is a lot of fun....and just a little bit messy! I've done this before and have even bought some special inks/dyes a few (maybe 5 craft fairs ago) but seeing it again in Pinterest reminded me about how lovely the prints can be.... and messy holiday fun for the boy? Why not! There are more detailed instructions here and here ....but basically you just squirt a whole lot of shaving cream (a couple of bucks from the cheap shop) into a tray. Add a few drops of food colouring and give it a mix. We used a wooden skewer. I'd recommend an eye dropper or pipette or something similar if your little one wants to add the colour themselves.....We didn't have much yellow left in the bottle after Mr 4-and-a-half wanted a go at adding the colour.  Lay the paper over the shaving cream and gentle push down for 10 seconds or so and then slowly peel it off.  Let it sit for a minute or so while you make some more prints off the same pattern...

We made this last holidays and I'm only just getting around to blogging it!  I followed a pin to this link  and bought some cheap hair conditioner while at the shops.  2 ingredients......yes.......but technically there is 3 with the colouring.  Easy to make.......yes.  Soft......yes Best playdough ever......no. It was lovely to play with for a while and it is soft and smells nice (apple scented conditioner) but is dried out quickly and it didn't store well in a sealed container in the cupboard. It also wasn't the easiest clean up, but that might have something to do with someone getting it all over the floor!  The corn flour gave it the slight texture of 'slime' and it started to stretch the way the slime does when you hold it up. It wasn't much good for making things out of it, just nice to roll and pat and squish.  It was Ok as something fun to do but a traditional playdough recipe, although more involved ...

Before 2014 is over I thought I'd better wrap up my 2013 challenge! There were 10 of us who thought the idea of using fabric from your stash rather than buying more in was a good idea. You can see them linked up here . I'd love you all to come back and tell us whether their stash grew or shrank! I think I came out pretty even. There were a few big finishes and lots of new things made from new fabrics bought but I'm happy with what I achieved in 2013. I found a wrap up for Little White Dove here. Anyone else do a wrap up post they want me to link?? 

I've been pulling out old crafty things for the Kick the Bucket 2014 Challenge and well.....ummmmm.... I may have started a new one or two as well. Opps! First with the old.....very old. So old in fact that my so called friends laughed when I said that this was going to be for Aden's nursery. He is 4.5 years old. Looking back I *may* have been slightly over ambitious when I said it would be finished when he was born. I was 27 weeks pregnant when I picked the pattern. And 28 weeks when the pattern arrived in the mail.  At 29 weeks , just a week into the project I'd made some good progress. 5th May 2009 At 32 weeks it looked like this 29th May 2009 And at 39 weeks just a week out from his due date it looked like this... 14th July 2009 And then I had a newborn and we all know what happens to time after that. It gets really really fast and nothing much gets done while you feed and feed and change nappies and cuddle and feed some more.  Bu...