moopy & me

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.

Close but no cigar

Some tins and pots on top of our kitchen cupboards... not quite a corner of my home ... and not quite a playdough table either... I picked up the bird tin (grabbed with much excitement) last week at Hype&Seek, a super funky retro shop across the road from my shop .... very dangerous to have right near where I am working... I did look for a playdough table today though..... but came home with this very fun apple platter (notice the stalk is the knife!).... better luck next time.

And here is another sort of corner of my home.... it's more of a disaster area really .... I have had my eye out for a cute little op shopped cupboard for months now...but no luck, I think there is another IKEA purchase waiting to happen here...

Sleepy bear

I found that pretty teapot at my local thrift shop this morning (a must, quick trip before I start teaching on Saturday's). The generous lady in the shop gave it to me (YES!) because she said "they were going to throw it out because it has no lid but I rescued it knowing you would find it"... how completely wonderful... there are some very special people out there who every now and again restore your faith in human kind (it makes up for the 'finger' someone gave me whilst driving in the city... they cut me off and then proceeded to give ME the finger!) any way I think it will make the perfect vase.

And that sleepy bear taking a nap is made from some pieces of fabric Barb so kindly gave to me, knowing I could use it and would be inspired by it.... also a bit of repro 30's fabric from Hetty's Patch (on Port Rd if you are in Adelaide) and the apron is from a 70's looking bed sheet... I am now going to find a recipe for cheddar biscuits... I have been reading Angelina Ballerina to Lily in the evenings and I have developed a strange hankering for cheese biccy's?? ( with a good glass of Coonawarra red.. can you even get a bad one?) and Lily is obsessed with being a ballerina ... ever since we went to the Adelaide Festival opening it had been all things ballet... oh dear.

I forgot to mention :: the sleepy bear is wearing knickers because we are all into that at our house right now ! (sorry for those who think we don't usually wear knickers... we do! we are toilet training so anything helps..right?)

Oscar & Lily

These two are the best of friends, I love how in this photo they both have the same smile on their faces. Oscar (the family schnauzer) has so much patience with Lily and is very protective of her... of coarse I wouldn't take my eye off them but so far he has put up with endless pokes and prods and kept that exact same smile on his face. In my immediate group of friends and family, Chris and I are the only couple with a child, so Oscar has been Lily's only pal... I am one of those annoying friends who bugs everyone to hurry up and have kids already !!Sometimes I worry that Lily doesn't get to hang out with more close friends her own age.... and then I have a fleeting moment where I think about baby #2 (that is NOT a hint by the way!!)..... mmm? I remember a time where I would have sworn black and blue that I would never ever think about baby #2.

Ok, now onto the latest "Moopy bunny" softie I have been working on... (I started her last year for MOS' May flower moopy) she is still not 100% how I have her in my head ... but getting there... I popped these two girls in my shop and with in an hour they were sold! WOW! I was very excited but also hesitant to let them go as I had only spent a few hours with the repro 50's fabric moopy. I made the orange moopy two weeks ago but didn't like her face... but then when she sold and the customer thought she was adorable I saw her in a new light and have decided to show a pic.

Her face was meant to be rounder.... How bizaar is this internet world... how many times have you made something and then the next day or maybe week someone else is doing it! (and not because they are copying ....they couldn't possibly have known what you were doing) its so wonderful how we all seem to be connected... the reason I say this is because Lily and I were making aprons for lots of her toys a few weeks ago (and that's why she so urgently needed to make her own).. and Amy's theme this month for Tie One On is infact making softy aprons!! Yah! finally I can join in .. I think my sewing skills can manage this one!

I just got a call from Button, she is in town! Yah! Moopy and I are meeting her at the Gallery in an hour ... so all that thrifted fun I was going to show will have to wait... here is a tidbit..

That Villery & Boch platter is actually mine, my oma gave me a number of pieces when I was born... and I thought it looked nice with that fabric and vase...

Sing...er

In perfect timing for Hillary's new fun blog, I finally have a photo of my awesome thrifted machine! Not that I need a machine older than the one I have, but who could pass this up for $20! Yes crazy I know.... I can't wait to clean it up and see what I can do with it? It might be something to just look at I think (like the millions of other things I drag home much to Chris' horror).

I also have many a thank you to dish out... a big one to the wonderfully kind Karen, for her parcel of the coolest stamps (don't ask me about my embrassing collection! I am a stamp dork ok, something about those tiny pictures, captures me and sparks the collector in me), I happen to teach my students about many of the illustrators who's work appears on the stamps, so that makes them extra special. Camilla is also wonderful.... I now have her calender in the kitchen...and Belinda...cookies that you only see in magazines! and I am the Ahem...Chris rather, is the proud owner of not one but two of Littlest Flower's adorable and striking prints (a valentines pressy from me that has all the benifits of being something I can also look at too)

You can also spy a few fun fabrics there ... speaking of fabwicks (Moopy speak), I asked the Moopy what she would like to do on our mummy/daughter day (wednesday, my day off) and she said "go to fabwick shop to make an apron" I kid you not!!! I was sooooo excited and wisked her off to do just that... she picked out her own fabwicks too... I will show and tell as soon as it is ready.

Other making news: Denyse Schmidt s******s for my ..... well I don't think mum reads my blog too often but just incase I won't say just yet.... but it's for her birthday... I tried to make one today and it didn't fit??? Another crafting/making failure... that's two in two weeks (note last weeks Turkish delight failure which I have yet the courage to try again). I have a theory about this, I suck at following directions... I should just make it up as I go... all my toys are cut free hand, direct to the fabric and seem to work.

And a new bunny to reveal ......

Thrifting jackpot

I have really been enjoying reading all the fantastic posts over at Whip up, isn't Kath clever, will she ever stop coming up with brilliant ideas for us to join in and create, not likely!

Lisa's recent posts regarding fabric and thrifting (not to mention those to die for log cabin pillows) have inspired me to finally photograph all my fabric and put the set up at Flickr. My long time passion for finding little gems at the local thrift stores means I have quite a few photos to take but I think getting them all organised will speed up my desision making, when deciding on what fabric to use next or what goes with what.

Button is back!

This is up on Whip up too, with all the relevent links WOW! double wow, I loove using up fabric scraps... now how can we do this?