moopy & me

Rose

Yes a blogging no no, photos taken in the middle of the night..excuse the yellow tinge. I just can't keep up with y'all... so many pretty blogs out there these days... I figure if I wait for sunshine and a stylist there would be no pics here at all.

I am loving Rose's apron ... some of Moyra's stunning fabric was used.. the rest is all vintage (beside the spotty ribbon). The dark grey knit has a much larger weave than I first thought  (much like a chunky sock) and was a nightmare to sew with... never again.

Rose was made with a technique I like to call the Hillary technique... you know what I am talking about?... where you sew all the pieces together on each side then match them up and sew all the way around. I hadn't tried it before .. and I don't know what is worse ...sewing all those little pieces together so they match up (we are talking about the queen of wonky sewing here and a girl who hates pinning) or cursing as I sew it my way, where by I shove the stuffed legs & arms inside the body and pray it will all work out for the best as my machine struggles to sew over all the bumps... Fiona has another method (I hope I am not giving away any family secrets here)... I like to call it the Fiona technique :D she usually doesn't stuff the legs & arms until last and then has all the holes to sew up.... it seems there really is no easy way around getting those dang legs attached..

Hey do you have a technique? I am willing to try ...

The reason I was all Hillary techniquing today was because of this fab little parcel! I was inspired to try and make a Moopy her way ... now as soon as I get a spare moment away from orders I would love to make one of her bears. The postcard says it all doesn't it... Thank you Hillary

And some more fun mail today (sorry Ashley, I will frame it better soon.. I couldn't bear to add it to my pile of unframed art... better up than down hey?)

Same time same place tomorrow guys..... it will be JUNE 30 already! that means Morphe II announcements right!

Calm before the storm

I was lucky enough to have another article in the Adelaide Matters magazine again this month ... And this time Petra (lovely Petra, I think she deserves a cuddly kitten to take home) wrote about my art classes for children, I definitely prefer print media as opposed to TV, at least with a magazine you can write everything down succinctly rather than the foot in mouth I got when the camera was put in my face for Postcards. Thanks Petra.

I will just have a little rant now ... you can skip to the exciting part at the bottom if you like. MY PURSE was STOLEN AGAIN!! but this time the little buggers (I could insert a more rotten word here) came into my shop and BEHIND my counter and pinched it from on my bag...right under my nose mind you.. yes I should have had my bag locked away ... but I just had no idea, I was so trusting of the quiet little neighbourhood I work in... these blokes made me feel so stupid... and then I found some of my cards all bent (ruined) under the train pass... disrespect!, why not just take the money and leave my purse intact. Thankfully some nice local girls found the rest of my purse this weekend and I was able to recover my irreplaceable photo booth pic of Chris & Lily... as well as my very important Spotlight card (craft store discount).. ok I feel better now thanks :D

I got a much anticipated parcel yesturday from Didine ... there were a few postal issues ... but well worth the wait ... I got a copy of that amazing Marie Claire idees magazine and a much needed tissue holder ..notice the cute label, we all have the sniffles so it's nice to have my own supply. Thanks Didine xox

And now for the exciting part...SproutDesign's first gift card has arrived! Yes I know very exciting.. we love it too and can't wait to have the website up (in just a couple of days... so those on the mailing list expect an email) and ready for shoppers.

This Skipping Girl design (1975) by the talented Pamela Walker will be printed in a delicious chocolatey brown on a midweight white cotton... can't you just see that chocolatey goodness on a metre of fabric or even better, on a little girls apron. You can also look forward to a spot fabric to compliment her as well!

Do you think I qualify?

I thought I might try and make a frog that funnily enough, I made this time last year .... it must be this cold weather that keeps me indoors and near the sewing machine.

I know I must be boring you with saying so but ... how awesome are all your applications!! I am super excited and can't wait to look through them all ... there are still a few days though to get those last minute applications in... so you think your stuff is not or too hot.. do you? heh?  come on show us! Do you think my frog qualifies? I am not so sure now that I have seen so much talent ..

This is talent though, pot luck actually, last week at my local op shop, I picked up this mint condition dolly highchair.... I now have a colour scheme for Moopy's cubby house.. that yummy 50's yellow and look at that cute bunny, sweetness.

Sometimes I feel a little guilty that Moopy doesn't get to enjoy the wonderful 'artroom' as all my students do, we now have a regular Wednesday mummy/daughter session at the least...

And here are some pics of my funster new neighbours down at the shop. POLKERDOT. You have to come and see.. oh the fabric..the skirts are my fave.

Inspiration

How a toy bunny came to be... from day one I had thought my little Lily looked like a bunny ... but not just any bunny, a Moopy bunny. Moopy is for MissyMoo, is for Poopylu, is for Missdroopy, is for Moopypoo..... is Moopy... DO YOU SEE THE CHEEKS! they are the Moopiest of all. Of course you can't get away with calling Lily anything except Lily these days.... although she still lets me call her my little angel... but that's as far as it goes. She will stongly proclaim, "I am not a Moopy, I am a Lily", just as we were chatting yesturday about how she is my favourite girl... she said "and Daddy is your favourite boy", so I asked "well if you're a girl and Daddy is a boy what am I?" and she said " YOU are a CARLY! (giggle giggle)" ... and yes we both laughed till we hurt.

I would still like to try and make a toy that resembles my initial illustration.... I think that maybe my entry for MORPHE II ..... speaking of MOPRHE II ... how are all your entries going? I have been absolutely blown away with all your applications.... very exciting. Only 10 days to go!! so if you were ummming and errrring nows the time to drop me an email and get your application in.

These two happy lasses & a bunch of others are headed off to Port Noarlunga for a textiles exhibition called FABRICATION.... well worth a look if you are in the area.

Biggest post ever

These little fellows are now available at KIDO Store ... Thanks for your patience Luke :D

Where to start :: Firstly, thank you to all those who gave Mini Moopy a test run and emailed me or linked their craftyness... I didn't get a chance to say hi to you all but I had a blast looking at them.

This Mini Moopy is off to Belgium to one of the sweetest gals on the net. Now who could that be?

And this Mini Owl is headed to another patient swapping blogger in Melbourne.

Secondly :: Morphe II applications are flying along... so much talent.. so much fun. Judging by the response, I am going to have a hard time picking the final toys and I am considering extending the number from 30 ..... what do you think?  I have added a little Morphe II button (which takes you to the application form) at the top there... so that I can keep posting and you don't forget to enter.

Now to some serious thrifting.... Some J P Miller cuteness from the 60's..

I have also realised that you guys havn't seen the 'new & improved' art room at Nest Studio... so here are a few pics... we are doing animation this term..

My toddler group painted this background beach scene for the animation they are making... They always leave behind palettes half filled with paint.... what to do?

I recently came up with this great idea (if I don't say so myself) on what to do with all that left over paint once the kids have finished.... It is not a good idea to wash paint down the sink ... and putting it in the bin is messy and letting it dry (to peel off later) is not always practicle. So I grab a pile of scrap paper and very quickly paint them all over (adding a bit of texture) using up all the paint...to be cut up and used in collage at a later date ... ala Eric Carle!

There you go ... all gone..now I can wash it. Very Enviro friendly.

And finally a quick update on our Sprout Design cards.... the printer made a huge booboo on our job & weren't too worried by it (they used the wrong stock!) so we are switching printers and starting again GGRRR! I just didn't feel comfortable selling cards that were not perfect... good things take time.. I suspect another 3 weeks. You guys will be the first to know when they're ready.