photo meme thingamagig

So Flamesparrow tagged me with this photo meme so here goes...

Open the first photo folder and pick the tenth picture...

OK I can do that but there aren't that many photos on my laptop yet.. everything is on Matt's computer or the web album. The tenth photo in the first folder isn't a photo I took its of the album cover of REPO the Genetic Opera original soundtrack. It is an awesome movie and soundtrack, *waits for people to run screaming from my blog*

And now, for the 1st pic in the 10th folder...

The Boy at age 3, having a big sulk in a Starbuck's in Seattle because we had to go to the airport next to fly back home and no more visiting Pappy and Grammy. It is one of my favourite photos, though its not from the tenth file because I don't have a tenth file yet!

I don't think I get very many readers now but if you have read this and haven't done it consider yourself tagged and leave me a comment so I can see your pictures!

button jewellery a mini tutorial

the Red Queen Pendant

ingredients:

vintage buttons
craft glue
glue on bails (or small pin backs)
needle and thread thread
chain or necklace

Instructions:

step 1: gather materials together and stack two or three buttons together until you find a combination that you love.

step 2: thread the needle and sew your stack of buttons together (alternatively you can glue them on top of each other, but I like the look of the thread keeping the buttons together)

step 3: decide where the bail/pin back will go on the back of the stack and place a few drops of glue on the back of the button and on the flat part of the pendant bail. Leave for a few seconds then stick the bail/pin back to the button stack.

step 4: let the glue dry then string the button pendant on a chain or pin the button pin to anything!

crafter's notes: I know it is only a super simple tutorial but it is fun and funky, and I will happily be wearing the red, black, and mother of pearl button pendant when I go out today. The pin below was my first attempt with a large renegade chartreuse button that had hidden in one of my button jam jars. If anyone wants it I will gladly give it away as chartreuse and I are no friends (the colour makes me look ill or possibly just a very lively zombie).

Chartreuse it is

pins

the blue pill...er pin is turquoise
the red is coral from a charity shop bracelet I scavenged

My Brain: Lets make some hat pins like the Mad Hatter.
Me: I haven't got any hat pins.
My Brain: pins then? We have pins.
Me: *remembers seeing a tutorial or possibly a picture of some bead topped sewing pins*
My Brain: google it!
Me: I can't find anything... I'll just go find the pins.

20 minutes later...

Me: I can't find the long pins. I had some... I bought some, but they're gone.
My Brain: :o(
Me: :o(
My Brain: Lets go shopping!
Me: its Wednesday....in a small town in England.
My Brain: oh.... :o(
Me: I have two pins to do a trial of beaded pins. I have glue, and I definitely have beads. *blows dust off bead box*

ten minutes later....

Me: we have two pins.
My Brain: yay pins!!!!!!


(p.s. the pincushion was made by Annie for me from the Robot swap long long ago)

The Mad Hatter

Alice in Wonderland DS Game *want*

A few weeks ago my friend Marina popped over for a coffee and a natter about crafty things as she embroiders (something I fail at) and crochets (something I plan to fail at) and sews much better than I can. Although she is very accomplished craft wise she didn't know much about the world of craft blogs so I showed her a few of my favourite inspirational craft blogs and places to find some awesomely geeky free patterns and great tutorials.

the Mad Hatter by Marina

When we finished talking craft geekery we gossiped about books and movies and I showed her a book on my amazon wish list and right next to it was the above Alice in Wonderland DS game, which I showed her and we both thought the little Mad Hatter was adorable. A few hours later I got a text from her saying she had doodled a little Mad Hatter on some fabric and was embroidering him for me! So here he is in all his cuteness. Sorry he is wrinkled but I hadn't had a chance to iron him or frame him yet. But I do have a vintage metal embroidery hoop that he should fit in nicely. Thank you so much Marina you are an awesome friend and I need to talk you into blogging!

a little mushroom too

I don't have the game yet, I wanted to wait for some more reviews before I spend the money on it, though I think it is meant to be a puzzle type game which I love. So aside from Nintendo or Disney reading my blog and deciding I am special and awesome and should be sent a free copy to blog about, *flutters lashes*. I shall probably have to wait till my birthday at the end of April.... pants....

THe Mad Hatter's Tea Party

A week or two ago I followed a tweeted link to a competition to win a ticket to the Ideal Home Show, plus a friend, to have tea at...... 'a fabulous Mad Hatters Tea Party at 5pm in the elaborately themed Alice in Wonderland garden,with a selection of tea’s from Twinings, Cupcakes from Baketique and beautiful hats from British Milliner Emma Fielding. You’ll also have the opportunity to receive free Beauty Treatments, and will be treated like a total VIP all day!' .... I never thought I would win in a million billion years because I'm not really the winning sort.. I think it must skip a generation because my dad can win at anything, and I pretty sure H could win anything he set his little heart on if he tried.

I'm not a complete loser mind, I have won other giveaways but not on the scale some lucky crafters do, but that's OK. Perhaps things are looking up for me, we go on holiday in two weeks time (to visit some close friends in the San Francisco Bay Area for a few days before flying to Spokane, WA and driving to Idaho to visit with my parents for a few weeks), the sun has actually come out to shine in the sky like some magical orb nearly forgotten about, and yesterday was Mothering Sunday so I got flowers and got to do nothing all day (mostly)!

So anyway where was I? oh yes I won tickets to a fabulous event, with hats apparently, but I don't know if I will be able to get down to London (train tickets are expensive) and don't know if I can rope anyone to go with me (Matt says he isn't bothered about going and grumbled about it being 5 days before we fly and the day before his birthday too). What to do ....what to do.....???

*panics*

Go Ask Alice...

everything I sent.. ignore the books.. they are everywhere

Things I made for the Alice in Wonderland Craft Swap...aka how I'm a totally crap photographer and have no skills with image editors and blogger hates me

Ok perhaps things aren't quite that bad but blogger isn't liking me this morning and my photography skills appear to be greatly lacking... next time I will have Matt take photos for me. He can be easily bribed with baked goods and chocolate.

I did really enjoy crafting for the Alice Swap, I felt really inspired to craft and create and just doodle things in my journal and sketchbook. I was really happy with the needle book, the bookmark (made with Anna's fabulous Alice Tape) and the primitive style Cheshire cat in fact a friend of mine asked me to make her one as well so that's not too bad for my lack of sewing skills. :o)

Say Cheese...er Cheshire Cat

Mad Hatter looks like a Mentat

bookmark made with lilla lotta Alice Tape tape

teacup needle book

what the dormouse said...

lovely pretty things for me

Last Friday I recieved my Alice in Wonderland Swap from Sandy and I was over the moon with the assorment of goodies she sent me from the States. Jiffy Pop popcorn which was snagged by matt almost immediatly as his alone to pop! Some awesome strawberry cream heart shaped Peeps (which were torn into not long after I snapped these quick photos), red vines licorice, Alice in Wonderland hair clips, teal blue hair extensions, and blue sparkly nailpolish and some fantastic fabrics.

Oh and knee socks with hearts on them which I wore on saturday and kept my feet very warm as it was freezing all day. I haven't opend the packet of pens or the march stamps and the fab cake mixing spatulas that H wandered off with and put away in the drawer. Sanday also included some Alice in Wonderland type eyeshadows and sewed a little black and white checkered bag that everything was hidden away in. I'll be uploading the photos to the Alice in Wonderland Craft Swap group on Flickr soon so you can have a proper nosey around at all the fantasticly curious things that have been swapped.

Matt popping the popcorn

I havne't gone to see the movie yet as it has been planned to be a book group outing with my friends and possibly Matt too but it's killing me as I'm so eager to see it. I have also promised H we would get a copy of the Disney cartoon on dvd or itunes download to put on the ipod touch as he is determined that he should go see Alice in Wonderland with me because it looks awesome! I'll blog about what I sent soon, but for now I have uploaded a few photos to my flickr which I will add to the previously mentioned AIW Swap Group Pool.

Vintage Doily Needlebook II

why is this picture so big? it shouldn't be it wasn't meant to be. why why why

Needle book made for Annax to replace the one that the evil postmaster ate... seriously he at my parcel to Anna, its the only explanation. As with all my sewing this needlebook is wonky.. I shall call it "primitive" in style to get away with being a bad seamstress/sewer/person what sews stuff.

The bottom mother of pearl button was sew on five minutes later when the light went so I couldn't' take any more photos. It hides a tiny stain on the vintage doilie. It was made with love and care and I think it turned out nicer than the original vintage doily needlebook Anna bought from my now defunct etsy shop... the one that the postmaster ate... I hope he choked on it (especially the little jade bracelet and other goodies that I had packed as a surprise).

spotty fabric on the inside, but the picture has gone wierdy on me and
my eyes keep going doolally when I look at the felty bit.