[The flower said i wish I was a tree]

My daughter and I love the song 'Treehugger' by Kimya Dawson http://www.kimyadawson.com/. Every time I sing it to her I visualise the lyrics and started thinking that I could embroider them for her for her birthday. So here they are with their accompanying lyrics!

The flower said i wish I was a tree


The tree said I wish I could be a different kind of tree


The cat wished that it was a bee


The turtle wished that it could fly, really high into the sky, over rooftops and then dive, deep into the sea


And in the sea there is a fish, a fish that has a secret wish, a wish to be a big cactus with a pink flower on it


I'm pretty happy with how they turned out - although the turtle is a little bland... I might have to fill-in the rooftops of the houses or something to introduce some colour.

Anyway, hope my daughter likes them!

My sister loves this haiku by Shiki:

Here is the dark tree
Denuded now
Of leafage...
But a million stars

So I embroidered this for her
 

Cotton floss on calico.



I wish I'd made one for me now!

and here's a jpg of the pattern - free for non-commercial use.

I'm sure I'm not the first to use the play on words afforded by 'crewel embroidery'.



Its not a very nice sentiment but I'm channeling some impotent anger in embroidery rather than at the people around me!

Its four strands of cotton floss on calico.

I love stenciling with freezer paper, but really don't have the time to spend carving out intricate designs. A couple of my friends have recently had bubbies and I was trying to think of personalised - and quick - presents for them. And then I remembered my little paper craft punches which are now part of my daughter's craft box.

I just punched out a couple of each animal onto strips of freezer paper and it was sooooo quick! It would be better if you had larger ones because the definition isn't great on some of the small bits, but I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I notice a couple of others have used this technique (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=119881.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=111092.0) so I know its nothing new - but it was certainly a revelation to me!

I love stenciling with freezer paper, but really don't have the time to spend carving out intricate designs. A couple of my friends have recently had bubbies and I was trying to think of personalised - and quick - presents for them. And then I remembered my little paper craft punches which are now part of my daughter's craft box.

I just punched out a couple of each animal onto strips of freezer paper and it was sooooo quick! It would be better if you had larger ones because the definition isn't great on some of the small bits, but I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I notice a couple of others have used this technique (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=119881.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=111092.0) so I know its nothing new - but it was certainly a revelation to me!

My Nan gave me an old knitting bag which was plastic lined and so filthy. But it had these beautiful old handles.... so i unpicked the crusty old fabric and used it to make a pattern, painted the handles and used two materials from Nan's stash (which seemed made for each other) and voila! I love it.

I made this for a friend from Brisbane, Australia who loved Savannah so much that she named her daughter Savannah -  I thought she'd like it.



I probably needed a bit more paint at the bottom of the skirt but otherwise I'm pretty pleased!

Rhino stencil


charger t


Heart


These are my second attempt at stenciling and I'm hooked. Rhino is from stencilry and the other two are homemade.

THEN I was over at http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/ and noticed that she'd printed some fabric. 'Geez that woman's talented' I said to myself, figuring she was one of those craft godesses that screen print. But no. She is a craft godess that puts freezer paper on fabric and PUTS IT THROUGH HER PRINTER!!! A lightening bolt went off in my head. 'That would be perfect for the labels that I want but don't want to fork out heaps for,' says I to no one in particular. And here they are.

How cool is this - the pinata cake! Thank you Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book! http://magshop.com.au/Kids_Party_Cakes.htm

I love freezer paper.

I have waited so long to try it (being that its not readily available in Australia). And this morning I did my first stencil. I think its grand. I shall abandon all other craft persuits forever (or until I get distracted by the next new big thing that comes along). This is a dandilion from www.stencilry.org. A $5 shirt from Rivers and $1 paint from Lincraft clearance bin. Wouldn't have been my colour choices, but I didn't want to spend big if I turned out to be a total gumby at it. And its beautiful. Crisp lines. Reasonable paint coverage. Oh the possibilities...