Dressing Up

Oh my goodness been sooo busy with university. And work. And boyfriend. Juggle, juggle, juggle. So where does crafting and blogging fit in?? :(

A few updates:

1: I ordered my first items from Etsy.com. They all came with beautiful packaging and some free gifts. <3 to handmade. I don't think I will ever buy jewellery in person again.

2: Had my step-brother's wedding yesterday. I bought a Review Australia dress from ebay-land, which was very nice - babydoll style, silver skirt with black cotton boddice - but a tiny bit on the small side. Not one hour before the ceremony I found myself removing the zipper from the boddice and replacing it with black eyelets to be laced up with silk ribbon, all the while going 'Oh my god I am cutting up a $200 dress' However, it worked quite nicely :) (pictures to be posted later).

3: Easter. Bought glass paint pens from Spotlight, shredded coloured paper from Thingz, tea light candle glasses from Ikea, some little chocolate eggs, and left over sugared almonds from the wedding prep. to make personalised candle holders (or tripple shot glasses if you are that way inclined...) for 24 people at less than $3 a piece. Hooray!

Hahaha two assignments due tomorrow, neither of which is very complete. Time (management) crisis!

Hooray for Higher Education

Mood= Study, study study!

First day of uni. Not too much on this week, as most tutorial classes won't be started until everyone has first attended the corresponding unit lecture. And of course I found myself up at midnight hand sewing scraps of fabric onto the bag I bought to use for my books. It's a men’s black calico shoulder bag, but it has become awful girly with a shorter strap and cream lace trim. And a nice picture of Alice saying "Curiouser and Curiouser" when I have some time (i.e. when I am not trying to rediscover my study from underneath 1 years worth of miscellaneous junk, and 12 years of primary and secondary school paraphernalia...Imagine the guys in that Disney cartoon movie looking for Atlantis. Then take away the pretty magical subterranean people they find, and replace them with peach coloured carpet. It is comparable, I swear).

I also made a keychain pendent from black felt. It has a little skull sewn on in white and is stuffed with fiberfill fun. I have enough of the stuff (pun) to fill a whole house with cushion-y goodness. To the point where it would become a perfect setting for ("cushiony-soft") toilet paper adverts, and I would grow rich from rental income.

I am still debating on whether to join the nerd guild. Or at least palm off some Dr. Who badges to them...

Dr. Who?

Mood= creative

It was a friend's birthday on the 7th. She hinted at wanting Dr. Who DVDs (or possibly merchandise?), but since I am a bit strapped for cash (read: stingy), I made her a little embroidered button-badge of a Dalek. Came up with the design by sketching from some show photos. I am not a fan at all, but I think this guy is kinda cute. Too small to take-over/destory/'whatever-a-robot-super-villian-with-an-egg-beater-does' the world, at least.

The design is worked mainly in back stitch using single strand embroidery thread on a heavy grey (cotton blend?) scrap of fabric. The white knobbly bits are french knots.

And having now done my friendly duties, it is sleepy time :) University orientation starts tomorrow, yay!

Home

Mood=tired


Got back from holiday land Sunday evening. Air New Zealand has excellent food. I could eat it everyday and never find myself fat or hungry :)

Things I have to show for my trip:
- A very unfinished embroidered bookmark
- 7 hours worth of scribbles in kiddie pencils on an aeroplane (they are fantastically waxy and clean. Maybe I shouldn't have spent so much on Derwents afterall...)
- New understanding of the life of H G Wells and his inspirations behind The Time Machine
- The most menacingest photo of a crocodile ever taken (he was my Aussie buddy during our time visiting the Aquarium)
- 2 Less Discworld novels to read (and rediscovered knowledge of the entire Phantom of the Opera score)
- A new-found HATRED of budgerigars
- Appreciation for art-deco
- Clothes! Stussy red tulip skirt, cargos with drawstring legs for shortening (am short.) + $20 bargain sunnies
- More relatives than I ever knew existed (Hewwo!)
- The sad knowledge that we could all be billionaires had distant relations not sold off their property for peanuts early last century
- Disillusionment over the shape of apple trees. Always thought they were neatly circular, not monstrosities ready to molest Wizard of Oz Dorothy. Much frowning.
- OMG Bamboo Fun white Wacom Tablet 9x6". OMG. What a name!
- Thought - Noah's Ark was maybe quite possibly based on fact. Have to wait and see what comes of that one
- Sooo many earrings. Thanks grandma!
- Great shots of some mixed media oils, fabric & stones on canvas paintings
- Hello, Kiwis are fuzzy and nocturnal and walk like they are on a boat. They have an acquired taste for ox tongue and muesli. Despite disliking water, they sometimes live in Aquariums.

:)

Christmas in...January.

Mood= omgthereisaspider!

Well my ornament in now complete. Hooray! Only one million things left to do before leaving on Saturday (as opposed to one million and one).

Bleh at this rate Noah is going to have to concentrate his efforts on teaching all the animals how to swim instead of building an Ark, cause this bookmark deal is taking forever. If I can find a little plastic needle I'm going to have to do some on the plane.

Reasons to Ban Embroidery Needles on Planes:

Useful for sewing lips together in protest against poor quality aeroplane food. Potential to cause cabin disturbance.

Essential equipment in running small-scale jail tattoo business from toilet area. Creates hygeine issues, especially in the case of running out of surgical alcohol. 5x100ml bottles can only go so far.

A Day in the Life of...

Mood= tired

Work-land aircon is still borked. I came in thismorning to find it had decided to dump its excess water on the floorboards. :(
Speaking of the floor, I think it is real Jarrah wood. Beautiful, but takes a terrible effort to maintain when bajillions of people scuff their grubby heels across it 58 hrs/week. Ho hum.

The Santa ornament is finished, save for the backstitched outline (yay!).
I'm a little stressed out about finishing (er.. and also starting) a cross stitched bookmark for my Grandmother in the next 5 days. I'm not very religious, but it has a cute Noah's ark design which I am sure she will appreciate. Sew, sew, sew!

Sickly

Mood= sick

Not so well today, which is sucky cause we have broken aircon in work-land (not to mention that said work has occurred on a Saturday).

Still stitching.

Oh. My. there is a lady dressed entirely in balloon animals standing in the doorway. Hello! Wait, she is wearing a jester hat also. I hope no one comes at her with a pin.