Crafty Flashback

As my attention these past 3-4 weeks has NOT been on creating or sewing, (just the bare minimum for Bday presents) I'm following Laura's lead on looking back on the month of May in my previous years of creating and playing.

Last year, I was busy packing, packing, packingpackingpackingpackingpacking.

May 2012

May 2011
found lots of activity. Some tunisian crochet, new purse design, teapot cozy from sweater ribbing,

Early May 2011 lots of needle felting with penguins! A parade of penguins.

May 2010 check out the sheep fleece I obtained for only $10!! Look how dirty it is! I only washed half of it and I think I ended up giving that away later.

Some needle felting, adding skirts to Neve's tshirts, Pom Pom Skirts, and a trip to the Riverdale farm for May Day! I was so entranced by it all.

May 2009 This year was a treat. I was transitioning from card making to sewing. And boy, did I ever sew a lot of the same bag! I loved the Ikea fabric in them.

There are some cards AND a kid craft activity. those were the days when I actually planned daily or every other day crafts for my kids. They don't quite go for it anymore and lose interest in stuffing a softie that they requested I make. Ah, growing up.

May 2008 Saw us on a trip to the Pittsburg zoo, lots of card making

 and our first trip to Portugal! 

Oh and my 40th birthday.

August 2007 I really started blogging in August of 2007. With Paper Crafting.  I was into the shrink art for sure.

I made wine charm kits, a tooth fairy kit and first haircut kit using tins form Lee Valley. 

 Some One Sheet Wonders and even a set of Christmas Cards. In August.

So there you go. 6 years! Of May crafting. 

I thought this would be a quick post, but no, it turned into a trip down memory lane.

See how I've grown and changed. How my children have grown and changed and where it all has led to our life here. All good stuff.

Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda

Thrifty Finds

The Longboat Society had a sale today. I went early and scored big time!!

 I'm afraid to boast of the prices. They were that good. Rug Hooking anyone?

 Most gorgeous.

And these books. (the toy making one is from the library sale a few weeks ago.)

 This tent will find a home in our back yard. Preferably over the picnic table I want to get. 

It's octagon shape!

 Look at the shape of this jar! And I got 10 of them! Won't my pickles look good in there?

 This is the bottom of a very old cigar box.

It came with the information on this Colonel. Shoot, I've misplaced the paper. I'll edit when I find it.

And I went back to get this for the kids.

It's a skating scene that moves the skaters with magnets underneath. They love it. Me too.

What else? More mason jars, 2 balls of sock yarn!!!, 2 shoe boxes of plaster ornaments for the kids to paint at the farmer's market craft table this summer, a wooden plate charger, some lily of the valley plants, and a few more things I'm forgetting about. 

Seriously! It was the biggest yard sale haul I've ever done. 

Do you remember the Ikea commercial where the woman is run/ walking across the parking lot yelling "start the car! Start the car!" That was me today. Looking over my shoulder to make sure they didn't come after me for more money. lol

'Tis the season of yard sales! how exciting to be in a new town for that! Next week is the long awaited "town wide" yard sale. I'm gonna go nuts. :}

Ciao,

Amanda

fabric splurge

Happy Belated Birthday to me! 

I will be enjoying this tonight b/c of the kindness of small town folks. Yummmmm. Thanks.

 This weekend was Victoria Day weekend. May 2-4. It was an extra long weekend as the kids didn't have school on Friday or Monday. We decided to go for it and went to the city for the day. Took my pa to supper and then went to the Annapolis Valley on Saturday to visit my sister at her new seasonal camping site.

The trip to the valley included a trip to Avonport Discount Fabrics.

Here are some of my wares..

 Love this scooter fabric. I think it will make a lovely teapot cozy and heat sacks.

 The sail boats are for a 'go fish' game idea I have. It will be the bag to hold it.

 The schooners, anchors and Nova Scotia Tartan will be tea pot cozys.

 My son wanted the penguins. Don't know what for. And the meadow things was too cute to pass up.

 Fat quarter of this story book fabric

 And some Red Riding Hood fabric.

When I don't have a project in mind for fabric, I usually only buy 1/2 metre. When it has a purpose, I buy 1 metre.  

How bout you? What is your usual yardage of fabric buying?

We had a lovely weekend.  A nice Birthday weekend.

Here's what I posted on my Facebook status:

"Thanks for the wishes. I'm 45 today and I can happily say that I am finally in the place and space 

I imagined myself to be at this age/stage of my life. 

And good times ahead. Grateful indeed."

'Tis true that. 'Tis True.

Ciao,

Amanda

good people round here

It's our first spring here in Shelburne. We arrived in the middle of summer and all the wonders Mother Nature had to give. Then fall and winter. brrr. bare. dull.

It's nice to see all the green return and the added bonus of the blossoms on the trees.

Even though we've been here for 10 months (!) we still have some city clicker in us. It's hard to erase 20 plus years from your system of doing things.

We want to grow our own food and raise chickens.

We have like minded friends and neighbours and even people we meet in the company of others. People with experience. People with local know how.

We've been talking with a guy over the past few months about eel grass. He bestows the virtues of it. We're willing to try it out. 

He showed up yesterday with a truck full of it!

 His third load of the day... for other people.

 How good is that? Neve grabbed the pick and started to work.

 Down the hill, up the hill.

 Dumping it in the bed.

 The bed that exists because another friend got the wood and put it there. 

Help I take readily. Gratefully.

 Kind people who offer and produce. People who offered to grow our chicks until they can go outside in August! They will add them to their own growing flock. Inside. Their house! I'm so thankful for that. This city slicker, who can't sleep with the spring peepers outside the house, will not be able to sleep with growing chickens inside her house. Light sleeper I am.

 I'm truly thankful for the kindness people give, knowledge of what to grow where, when.

And thankful for the help from the littles....

 With the guidance of others, we will grow some food and 

nurture the love and abundance of nature around us.

Here's my Mother's Day present... a peach tree!

It was either that or a pair of rubber boots. The tree was easier to find. I didn't have to try it on.

The eel grass will grow potatoes! A layer of grass, seedlings and then another layer of eel grass. As the potatoes grow, you can lift up the grass, pick some and put it back over. And it also helps cut the cost of filling the bed with soil.

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks of tending the garden and figuring out how to keep the deer out! We've gotten lots of suggestions for that also.

Thanks locals for your welcoming community.

Ciao,

Amanda

The Iceland Gull landeth

My attempt to interpret the Iceland Gull in wool.

 I only broke 4 needles

 Birds heads are difficult. I could still use some work on it. But 'tis done, unless the prop lady needs something tweaked!

 The deer didn't eat the tulips. I cut some.

 Brought them inside

 And they exploded. As did my head cold. boo. 1st one this year, so I'm not really complaining.

Taking it easy with couch crafting and folding laundry.

Have a good one.

Amanda

me? in a magazine?

Hey! I'm in an online magazine.
well, kinda.
through the way of Margaret Bloom from We Bloom Here.

Moomah Magazine did a book review of her book Making Peg Dolls and put in a photo of my pirate and mermaid. (oops, editor, you should have checked your sources!)

Margaret and I had a little back and forth chat about it. And there you go. Now, if only I had some source credit. :}

The local theatre group is doing a play about pirates. I volunteered/was asked if I could come up with a seagull.

 A sitting seagull to be on a shoulder. Yep, no patterns. So I attempted to needle felt.

This is just the basic shape. I've wet felted it and when it dries, I will add details and hopefully, it will fool the audience. Who won't be sitting so far away as I wish. :}

They were calling for rain all weekend, but the sun came out, it's shining hot and lovely.

Have a great weekend.

Amanda