The Happy Happy Hippy Swap…

Each year I organise the Hippy Swap over on Craftster. It’s become like a tradition; I finish school, I have more time for crafting and sitting for hours staring at a computer screen trawling through crafty sites…you know how it is! The weather has been quite nice here, so I’ve spent alot of time in my garden, digging and planting, and moving stuff around. Look here, this is the first ever water lily to grow in my tiny water garden (big water filled bowl) and it’s soo pretty! It’s a dwarf water lily.

I’ve also done a little bit of crafting for me. This was an old t-shirt that’d been sitting around waiting for me to finish. I’d done a little bit of re-fashioning on it, cutting on the crew neck (which I’m really not find of) and creating a v-neck, trimmed with pink and gold gauzy ribbon. And then I ran out of inspiration….it sat there for quite a while waiting for the right idea. Anyway, after doing a couple of refashioning workshops, I decided that what this t-shirt needed was a bit of appliqué. And so the butterfly t-shirt was born. Or rather, sewn.

 

 

I freehand drew a butterfly outline on some paper, transferred it onto Bondaweb, ironed it to some pretty pink fabric and cut out the butterfly shape. Then I ironed it onto some purple fabric and cut round it so that you could see the purple round the pink. I made a body and some spots out of the purple fabric too and ironed them on.

Then I embroidered round them using a blanket stitch and some pink and gold threads. I also added some gold sequins for a bit of sparkle. Much better!

 

So then I concentrated on my hippy swap package. I can now post photos because my partner’s received the package and I’ve received hers! Because my partner was in the UK, I knitted a nice warm hat for the cold weather which is very practical for this country. This is the Meret by Woolly Wormhead, it’s one of my favourite patterns. I made it a slouchy hat…  

 

with a combination rolled/ribbed edge.

 

I used a lovely warm brown…

I also needle felted and embellished this felt brooch, made from an old fulled jumper. It has green sequins and beads along the edge. I love needle felting, it’s so therapeutic stabbing away!!

 

Since my partner is a beginner belly dancer and wanted a coin belt, I decided to make her one. Her favourite colours were very autumnal, greens and browns and golds. It’s wonderfully jingly!

 

I also used some decorative ribbon and sequin strands for some sparkle.

I made sure that even the ends looked good!

And because you just have to wear flowers in your hair when you’re dancing, I made this lily hair clip. I used a flower from a cheap ‘pound shop’ artificial ‘bouquet’ and coated the edges in glitter glue…

 

Then I glued a spring clip underneath, making sure to hide alot of the clip in the leaves. I like to tuck flowers in my hair by my ear and I find the flowers on clips stay better than on bands.

My partner likes to write notes and lists in a notebook, so I also made her a felt notebook cover which she can take off when the notebook is full and change to another notebook. I covered it using the ‘paper fabric’ technique I learnt at a workshop a couple of months ago, and then embellished it using embroidery threads, flowers and sequins.

 

Hopefully using felt will make it quite durable…

 

I also used Angelina Fibres on it which are such fun to work with!

The notebook is just a cheap and cheerful A5 hardback notebook.

 

I sent along one of the rainbow light bulbs from my shop, because they are just so damned hippy-ish!

And in the spirit of eco-friendly hippy crafts, I upcycled an old Ferrero Rocher plastic box, and decorated it using glass paints.

 

It looks lovely in the sunshine.

I’m kind of an overachiever and I do tend to spoil my swap partners, and well, hippy crafting is such good fun, that I had to make some extras for the package, but I’d agreed with my partner that we’d do extras, so that was fine and dandy. I made a green and brown beaded necklace with a Celtic pendant, since my partner loves all things Celtic, and greens and browns….

 

I had planned to do a bit of hippy-like appliqué, but I just couldn’t find the right image, then I noticed that I had some green fabric left from my belly dance costume that would go really well with this top, and some green organza that complimented it really well, and the top sort of morphed and became a sort of woodland fairy type of top instead.

I made some ruffles by tearing two strips of fabric which were much much longer than the bit that I wanted to embellish. I sewed a running stitch along the middle of each strip and pulled so that it gathered it up. Then I sewed it into place. I did the organza one first, then the satin ruffle, the I sewed a faceted bead every cm or so. The fabrics  should fray and look pretty…. 

 

I also painted an ash catcher green, then decoupaged it with a sunflower and sparkly Modge Podge. I varnished it to make sure it was durable. This didn’t photograph so well, so you’ll have to take my word for it that there’s a sunflower on it!

To see what I received in return, click here. We were both very happy hippies!

Ash, Rings and Wings

Well, it’s been an unusual couple of weeks. Unless you live in Europe, you probably won’t have taken much notice of an Icelandic volcano eruption, but over here, particularly in the UK, it’s caused chaos! Why is that you may ask? Well, it seems that volcanic ash is not very good for aeroplane engines. And as that cloud of volcanic ash was headed our way, planes were grounded and airports closed. Even the RAF weren’t taking chances, and in my mind, that’s be good enough for me! For almost two weeks, our skies were quiet and unmarred by the sight of plane trails. It also coincided with the most beautiful warm weather…coincidence?? I wonder!

Of course this has meant that thousands of Britons have been stranded overseas, unable to get home. As it was the Easter holidays/Spring break, many of our students had gone home and were unable to get back. We also had teachers who had gone abroad for a holiday and not been able to get back. Some of our students have only just been able to get flights now, and some are still waiting. I’ve had classes of perhaps only one or two students. Our GCSE students were supposed to take the first part of their exams on the 24th, and we had to get special dispensation to postpone it. I’m sure it will all be okay in the end though.

The warm weather has meant that everything has leapt into blossom, my cherry tree is starting to look glorious! We planted grass seed and bulbs out over the holiday, but I’ve had to water regularly, and the ground is dry and cracked, so yesterdays rain shower was welcomed by the garden.

I drove home from yoga the other night to see the most stunning full moon; huge with a glowing ring of light around it. I grabbed my camera when I got home and experimenting with different settings got these shots.

This one was taken with a different setting about half an hour later, partially obscured by a tree.

And then this one was taken much later, high in the sky…

 

I’ve spent spare moments over the last week reconning an old fleece top that I had acquired, I loved the colour, but it was a plain boring v-necked fleece top, so I had some ideas in the back of my mind and attacked it with a pair of scissors to create a shrug style fairy top.

It was really easy to do, I cut down the V at the front and then scooped under the bust, and round the sides to a point in the back. I was watching Ugly Betty at the time, so maybe I got a little Mode style inspiration…

I also cut the sleeves to a point.

I serged around the raw edges, then added the finishing touches, beads, and then appliquéd wings on the back! I totally love it now!

I’ve also been knitting away creating my Mosey legwarmers..

On The May Day Bank Holiday, M and I decided to take a day trip. It would have been nice to get away for the weekend, but we haven’t got around to getting a tow bar fitted on the car yet. Anyway, we decided to go to St. Albans for the day, which was one of the oldest Roman settlements in Briton (after Londinium). The weather was nice and we spent a lovely day strolling around the market, where I bought a lovely flower pendant, and the Cathedral…

 

and then we went to the Verulamium Museum, which showed how the Romans lived along with some of the stunning mosaics that their homes were decorated in…

I could totally live with one of these on my floor!

There were lots of displays with artefacts discovered by archaeologists (my friend was on a dig here when she was an archaeologist). I was fascinated by these  key rings..keys that were worn on the fingers and is probably were the expression ‘key ring’ comes from!!  

And a mosaic floor, still in situ with the hypocaust (under floor heating)  exposed at the corner.

 

It was a lovely day out…

Summertime rolls

Well, the last couple of weeks have been non-stop; teaching summer school and running various entertainment for the under-sixteen's out of school hours, plus escorting minors (the under-age kind, not the underground kind!) to the airport. There has been lots of sickness though; there is a Cough circulating round the student hostels and this morning I feel a little cough-y and sore throated as though I might be coming down with it too. The Swine Flu is a big concern here in Britain, we have lots (hundreds of thousands) of diagnosed cases but no-one’s sure if that’s because people are being diagnosed by phone with medication being collected by a nominated healthy person. There have been quite a few deaths here as well, though mostly people who have lung problems like asthma or immune problems. M and I are trying to avoid it of course, as he’s asthmatic and I have Lupus, so we’d be buggered if we caught it! Suspected cases amongst the students have resulted in the potential invalid being kept in isolation! The students have been quite sweet this year, look what I received from one of the Russian students:

It’s a lovely painted and lacquered spoon and a big bar of Russian chocolate! It’s difficult to see here but the wrapper on the chocolate is all metallic bronze and gold, with beautiful little embossed ivy leaves scrolling round the edge. I don’t really want to open it, it’s so pretty! And I’ve lost a stone and a half, so I don’t really want need the temptation at the moment. It was bad enough that I discovered Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food half price in Tesco's! I met up with the girls on Wednesday; another potential diet disaster - we went out for lunch and I’d made a deal with myself that if I walked there and back, I could eat what I wanted. Needless to say the day was dreadful! Black skies and torrential rain and my route to the restaurant was a half hours walk through the fields and across the canal! But a deal is a deal, so I popped on a pair of jeans under a dress and headed down. We had the meal (lovely), popped to the local craft superstore which was conveniently near, and then into a big clothes store where we challenged each other to dress in bad taste outfits in the dressing rooms which was hilarious! By the time I got home though, the driving wind and rain (and my desire to keep my lovely craft papers dry) had resulted in me being absolutely saturated! The jeans, being naturally too long for me because I am after all a short arse, had acted like wicks and had soaked up not only all the rain falling on me, but also all the rain in the puddles!  

All this work has meant that I’ll be financially solvent for the summer though and not completely brassic! M and I have actually booked our holiday this year! It’s been over two years since we’ve been away for anything longer than a couple of nights. We’ve booked a pitch on a working farm that has five spaces for tents or caravans. It’s an idyllic spot in the Cornish countryside near Liskeard. We’re gonna visit the Eden Project, some tin mines, the Carnglaze slate caverns, Tintagel, stone circles, aquariums, we’re going to walk along the craggy Cornish coastline and explore some quaint little fishing villages! I can’t wait! Cornwall is one of my favourite places in England!

Crafting wise, I had a moment of weakness people! I blame ...ummm…..the bad weather! Yes, that’s it! The weather! It’s been dreadful here! So what have I done? I present my moment of weakness:

Tada! I bought a new overlocker! *whispers* She’s not really new but don’t tell her! She’s a Janome MyLock; old, but she works perfectly. She needed a bit of a clean up, poor old thing, she’d been left in a right old state, very grubby and full of fluff, so I’ve given her the once over, and as soon as I get some oil, I’ll give her a bit of a service too. I’ve been getting to know her and getting a few alternation jobs done, t-shirts (mostly necklines, sleeves and hemlines) and various items of clothing have been beautifully (and almost professionally looking) reconned. Oo I actually started a sort of apron top too, only I’ve run out of black thread now, so I have to wait till I’ve been shopping to finish it! I actually went to get some thread yesterday because she can’t half eat through reels of cotton, and spotted a bargain bin full of Gutterman threads at the low low low price of 25p! So of course, I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity! Forgot to get some plain thread for the overlocker though!

When I got to the tills, she charged me just £3.50 for all these! Don’t they look beautiful all lined up in a row there!

I’ve been working in my garden alot recently and I’ve actually been knitting & crocheting too! I’ve done a little more of my garden blanket, a little more of my BPT and some of this:

A secret project! More will be revealed soon! I’ve been working on some stuff for the IYP (Invite Your Partner swap on Craftster) and drawing up ideas for my partner Javede! Naughty me, I signed up for the Sealife swap too on Craftster; all those hours playing Endless Ocean on the Wii have influenced me I think! Right, time to sign off for the evening, M and I have the Grudge 3 lined up for our Sunday night viewing, and I think Pippin has reserved my lap for recuperating purposes; she got a slapping last night from one of the local bullyboy tomcats and her front leg is swelled up and sore today! I’ll leave you with last nights sunset!

 

Parcels in the Post

Well the news of the week for me was the discovery that Michael Jackson had Lupus (like me)! That explains alot about him! I’m not a big fan of MJ but I feel a little angry that he just couldn’t come out with it and say that’s what he had. Maybe there would be more understanding about the condition with such a famous spokesperson. Ah well, I guess he had his reasons, but I think the world would have treated him a little more kindly.

So this morning there was a little break in the weather and I decided to talk a walk up to the post office with the Uberhound to post some eBay sales and also my Hippy Swap package.  I handed over my packages and my money to the post office clerk and then we took a stroll in the park enjoying the sunshine!

It’s always nice to be in the sunshine

especially when you see such beautiful colours and wild flowers…

Sometime’s it’s nice to take a seat and watch the rabbits ….

There’s an old play area tucked away in the centre of the park which is sadly in need of a fresh lick of paint but makes for a good photo…

Anyway, my Hippy Swap package is finally in the post! I had to get it in the mail because the package was getting bigger and bigger and it was going to cost me a fortune to post as it was *lol* so here’s the whole lot spread out on the bed

And here’s a few of the things I made for the package that you haven’t seen yet…

These are window clings, you press them onto the window or a mirror and they’ll stick there until you want to peel them off again.

I also made a fairy pen from Fimo

and plenty of earrings for my partner as she’ll be getting her ears pierced soon. Now she’ll have plenty to wear…

I also made a crocheted bag

And some reversible hair bands

I made a little extra as well; this isn’t really a hippy item, but my partner mentioned somewhere in the thread that she pole-danced as a hobby, and that she really wanted a mini top hat, so I created this for her from felt and scraps that I had in my stash!

The crown inside is an old toilet roll, the brim is the flexible clear circle that you get in cd spindles, and the rest of it’s from stash items

I sewed a strip of elastic onto the bottom to keep it on her head when she’s dancing. I was really really happy with how it came out!

And remember I had a school t-shirt that was the typical boxy tee; just the sort of style that I hate. It was a small, but still too huge for me, so I chopped off the crew neck and cut it a little lower (but not too low, it’s for school trips after all!). I also cut about three inches off the length because it came nearly down to my knees, and a couple of inches off the sleeve length! I zigzagged around the neckline, and lettuce frilled the edges of the sleeves and bottom. 

I reconned it just in time to wear it on Sunday to escort a student from Gatwick airport to school as the person who normally collects students was ill, so I stepped in to help. It’s definitely much more ‘me’ now and more comfortable (though still white), and looks like it actually fits me now, and not like I’m wearing borrowed clothes!

Wow, so much to tell you today, I hope you weren’t bored