Ceramic and Japanese ink necklaces

Fairfield Primary School had a Maker's Market yesterday, and I made these little necklaces to sell.  They are made from clay and printed with Japanese ink.  I think this Christmas will be the 'jewellery' Christmas.

Knitted dishwashing cloths and scourers

Last Christmas was the year of the handmade dishcloth.  However, my enthusiasm stretched over the Christmas holidays and since then I have sporadically knitted away as I have come across balls of cotton in op shops.  Here is my current collection of knitted cloths and scourers.  I have done double yarn knitting to ensure they last longer.  Warning that knitting jute is quite scratchy on your hands!

Fairy Dust

Fairies are big at our at house at the moment.  Jemima is impatiently waiting to lose her first tooth and is eagerly anticipating a visit from the tooth fairy.  Recent google searches she has carried out include 'where to find fairies' and 'where do fairies live'.

Somewhere along the way I came across some fairy dust for sale in a lovely little glass bottle, with a little poem on some card packaged up in a cellophane envelope .... hmmm.  I could do something like that!

I spent some time looking for suitable containers and glitter as separate items, and then discovered OK looking plastic tubes of glitter for sale at the local $2 shop  (10 tubes for $2 I think it was).

So, I came up with my own little poem and voila .... magical fairy dust.

My kids still haven't quite mastered 'just the right way' yet but they are working on it!

Felt Flower Hair Ties

I made these hair ties for the craft stall at our primary fete in March.  I made some in blue and red.  They have a little button in the middle and 2 petals that are joined together at the back.  This is where I sewed it all together, hiding the elastic between the back of the flower and the petals. They look quite cute in and the red ones match the girls school uniforms.  Very handy.

Wardrobe Sachets

Obviously I am on a theme this christmas, and have made smelly linen and leather sachets to hang in the wardrobe. 

I have filled these bags with herbs from my garden - lavender and rosemary - and with lemon rind, star anise, cinnamon and cloves. I added a couple of tablespoons of linseed to each bag to give some weight and something for the herbs and spices to rub against when they are moved around.

I bought patterned and plain linen from Rathdowne Remnants, and cut up some brown leather strips for the strap.

They really look lovely, and I going to give them to my Nanna for christmas. 

Essential Oil Diffusers

On Sunday I had a great idea for our home made christmas, and headed off to Camberwell market to get some little old jars.  I had in mind some old half milk bottles (cream bottles) but the man who sells them wasn't there (1st Sunday of the month apparently) so I found some ink bottles and old alcohol bottles instead.  The advantage of the alcohol bottles is that they have lids, so they can be transported around without spilling the oil.

I followed some online instructions and mixed almond oil with a tablespoon of vodka, and then added  a blend of essential oils.  I bought rattan at Cobra Cane in Collingwood  (in hindsight I think I already had some in my garage from when I made a mobile once - and I bought it from Spotlight ...).  I did try bamboo skewers first, but they didn't soak up the oil enough (rattan has little tubes all the way through which apparently helps absorb the oil better).

Anyway, I am happy with the finished product.  They look very cute and they smell great. 

More Reinvented Tea Towels ....

I have a garage full of junk collected from op shops and the side of the road, and I have a big collection of mainly Australiana tea towels.  In an effort tidy up a little I fixed up a couple of stools ... they are now in my lounge room.