Craftapalooza

kitchen renovation

A few of you have asked for some pics of the finished kitchen. There's still a little tweaking to do, but here's where we are at. I did have trouble photographing this, think it was a combination of my limited photography skills, the black and white contrast, lighting and I didn't have time to move furniture out of the way. I might get around to taking better shots in the future, but for now these will have to do! :)

First up though for contrast, the old kitchen. We had 2 walls removed and several structural beams inserted into the roof. These guys rocked, totally professional and I would recommend them to anyone. I can't remember his business name, but any locals that are interested in a wall removal dude just drop me an email. He finished in 2-3 days, then 2 days kitchen installed, by these guys. I don't know if I'd recommend them. Whilst I'm overall happy with the job there's some details and service I'm not happy with. Their project management of the job, or lack, is probably one of the major issues and the fact that we spent quite a considerable amount of money with them (well for us it was) and there was no follow up at all after installation. Nothing. Pretty slack. Still, she's a solid kitchen and a joy to use, the appliances obviously pay a big part in that joy! Look at that oven, it's a monster and I love her.

The pictures below are also over at flickr if you want to read some notes and further detail.

The wall below is opposite the kitchen and the dining room is between this wall and the kitchen.

So that's pretty much it! I will post another time about my apple fetish and get some decent pics to share!

sh*t on the liver

Or pillow crease face. This is how I woke up this morning, feeling cranky and frowny. So, this post, not a lot of words just pictures. Everything's great, my life is awesome, but I still wake up sometimes with sh*t on the liver. *Sigh*. Saying that The Son did have me crying tears of laughter on the freeway this morning.

WIP - Valentine Sequin Scarf. Love the yarn.

FO's. T-Bot using one of Hilary's awesome patterns for a friends little fella.

Felty goodness. After seeing Sarah's awesome garland it reminded me that I had this book, thanks Miss Kate, and that I should have a play.

Brooch

and this one too big to be a brooch I think but a patch on a denim jacket? Or handbag?

and a birdie bookmark

More house? Ok. Here's parts of our bedroom. These lanters are in my corner of the bedroom. I love love love them.

The wall at the end of the bed, no the whole room is not this colour, just one wall. Ironically the colour is called Lickedy Lick. Not quite colour accurate here, it's more pink than red.

Ok, I think looking at this little monkey could help cure anyone's sh*t on the liver. Well that's if he's not peeing somewhere you'd prefer he didn't, or chasing the cat, or running off with the knickers you've just taken off at the end of the day, or digging a hole to China in the backyard....you get the idea.

Happy crafting peeps.

body washer monster?

EDIT: Thanks for the Egbert love in the last post. I'll pull finger and get writing up a pattern.

Well howdy ya'll! How are you? Me, just dandy! Though wishing this feral summer heat would let up a little. What else? Thinking about Easter crafting and the week I'll have off, the sewing I'd like to do and movies I'd like to watch. Hopefully The Son will be on leave with me and we can hang out together.

The Ted and Spud are doing well. Spud secretly loves Ted, but as Mummy Son says he just has trouble expressing his emotions sometimes. Translation, he bites and attacks and stirs. Though having lived with this cat for over 6 years I can see he enjoys Ted. Enjoys tearing around the house and egging the pup on, enjoys the play and mostly enjoys the wrestle. Maybe not so much the saliva, sharp teeth and claws sometimes, but generally enjoys.

For those puppy lovers here's Turdalot at about 17 weeks. Man they grow up quick! I know, cliched, but they do! He's very sweet, if a little naughty. What you see here is morning time whilst we're getting ready for work. Teddy Rooster (Mummy Son's name for him) tethered to the dining room table with a treat or two and a little puppy matt, sewn very quickly and roughly by me, fabric choice, The Son.

I've been spending a little of time over at Ravelry. Man it ROCKS. Anyhow, I found this awesome wash cloth pattern for a lion....Not having yellow/orange cotton I decided to use what was in the stash and have ended up with a wash cloth monster. Still fun. Of course it's for us to use, never too old for a monster wash cloth.

For those of you with access to Ravelry, here's the link to the lion pattern and my initial inspiration. I knitted the 2 strand version.

Whilst I was in the bathroom thought I'd show you guys some of the fun stuff.

Decals on the mirror, purchased from Vinyl Wall Art. As you can see I need a remote for the camera.

Some framed prints, two from Zakkaya in Melbourne. Purchased when shopping with Al and Di a few years ago. The other from a Japanese spostcard book. Very cheap frames from Ikea. Quick, simple and fun.

Oh and last Saturday night we went and saw Rufus Wainwright who was awesome. Just gorgeous, entertaining and a stunning voice.

Until next time, happy crafting!

cookin', wipin', nappin'

Hey ya'll! Cruising along here at Craftapalooza. First week back at work from Christmas holidays. Thinking about crafting, a few little wip's on the go. One pictured here, my interpretation of a magazine bowl, it could turn into a pile of pooh, we'll see. I'm using a 1950's vintage magazine that's slightly water damaged.

The table setting you see below is from a dinner party last weekend. Sorry, no food pics. I slow cooked a shoulder of lamb in the barbeque for 4 hours after watching Jamie do it. Loving his new series, be nice to have the time to manage a vegie garden like his. We also had roasted potatoes, pumpkin and peas. YUM. Finished off with lemon friands and lemon curd, with cream. Double yum yum!

What else? General home stuff. Hanging pictures, attempting to hang blinds. What was that? Cleaned and tidied the craft room? Ummm not quite, started today, will try and finish this week. We've started taking Teddy Turdalot aka Teddy 2 Turds aka Teddy Rooster aka Teddy Turdmuncher* for walks now that he's had his 12 week injections. He's perfecting the art of sofa napping as you can see.

* Eeeeeew. We now have to find a spot high up for Spud's litter. Ted's discovered the delights of kitty turds. GROSS. I've already had to wash one poop mustache off his face. DOUBLE TRIPLE GROSS. The joys of dog ownership.

more underbelly

I'm showing and shaming publicly to get my a-into-gear to FINALLY sort and organise the crafty space so I can actually craft without wrestling.

This is currently what my desk looks like, well part of my desk and about a quarter of the room. The other 3/4's of the room is messy like this. Eek.

I've started to organise. I've used the Ikea Asker system and a magnetic board to the right. Above the Asker will go a shelf. That's a start. I don't know if you could call this an Ikea hack. I've converted the paper towel holder to a ribbon holder. Overall I'm liking this. So hopefully, this weekend I'll get the rest of the room sorted and can share the space with you.

damn insomnia

It's not too late, 12.30am. The Son and Teddyturdalot are snoring their heads off and I find sometimes if I don't get to sleep before the snoring starts I'm stuffed. Tonight, stuffed. So I get up. Beats staying in bed getting more frustrated.

I had a rush of festive posts for a while. There's been a pause but there's crafting happening. Hopefully I'll get some time to photograph and show and tell before the jolly dude comes. Thanks for all the lovely crafty love lately, makes a girl feel warm and fuzzy :)

I'll also take some more kitchen pics so you can see how she's looking. I baked my Christmas cakes in her new oven, awesome. Never made Christmas cake before. Al M tells me it's tasty and moist, or did she just say moist? Anyhow, she didn't gag down the phone when telling me.

I'll leave you with some succulents that sit on the outdoor dining table. A peaceful pic, but doesn't make me damn sleepy!

Stay safe, keep calm and enjoy the festiveness (The Son would say I should take my own advice!).

decking the halls...

I remember seeing Stephanie's button wreath last year and thinking how sweet it was. I had a go myself for this year. I've used a mix of vintage, newish and scrapbooking buttons.

If you search button wreath at flickr you find all sorts of goodness.

Have you seen Sarah's Christmasfest?! She's going off. I LOVE her fabric tree, here's my version. Very quick and heaps of fun.

More pics over at Flickr.

it's beginning to look a lot like....

Yep, the silly season's kicked in at the Palooza residence. There's list writing and planning. I have over a kilo of fruit macerating on the kitchen bench getting ready for Christmas cake making this weekend. I've never made Christmas cake or pudding, but The Son's a fan so this weekend I'm attempting. Eeek. Fingers and pink bits crossed. I had a chat to The Joan, Al M's very wise mum, and she gave me some pointers.

What else? Well an advent calendar was made for The Son. 25 little envelopes stamped with 1 to 25, embellished with little silver wings, stuck to our tree. Each one containing a voucher she can redeem once over the next year for various things. Anything from dinner at a restaurant of your choice to other *cough* adult activities.

The tree? Well I've copied Al M's. I think she originally saw the idea in a Donna Hay? Anyhow, my first attempt. Not bad, a little skinny and bumpy. Basic details. Grab yourself some embroidery hoops in various sizes, drill 5 holes equal distances apart in the largest ring (the base) , 5 tall dowelling - drill a hole in one end of each. Then I used bag ties to attach the dowelling to the hoop. Then slip over the other smaller size hoops and attach to the dowel using bag ties. I lacky banded the top of the 5 dowel together. Finally grab a crapload of tulle/netting, in this instance 12 metres and get wrapping and wrapping and scrunching, until you like the way it looks. Oops before you wrap net, stick some lights up the middle of the tree. Then, voile. You're done.

What else? Ted arrives this Friday....You want to know more? Hmmm well he's a Pugalier and he'll be nine weeks old this week. So exciting. I'm sure I'll bore you all to death with cute pup pics. BTW you seen the latest edition to Lisa's family? Sooo sweet, I just hope Spud adjusts as well as Margaret has! Congrats Lisa.

Until next time, happy crafting!

new kitchens and friands

The past weekend I managed to sneak in some baking time in the kitchen. Awesome. The oven and I are still circling each other but we'll get there. More pictures soon. Tomorrow the floor is being put in! WOOT!!

The Son found this awesome recipe for strawberry friands. YUMMMM. I've added Milk and Cookies to my bloglines, nice that they're an Aussie and I don't have to translate their measurements. Great little blog too.

I also gave the strawberry and ricotta shortcakes a go. Nice recipe I'd try again, I overcooked mine a little, but still tasty.

Gearing up for Christmas around here. Planning baking and food and pressies. I have printed our Christmas cards on the gocco this year and a calendar, when I can photograph them in decent light I'll show. I'm loving the gocco.

We also have a new little buddy coming for Spud, well for us too! More details later next week. He's small, furry and will be named Teddy/Ted. I dunno it we'll be seeing Spud enjoying his box time as much in the near future :)

Happy crafting!

kitchen install finito, well sorta

Woot! Friday afternoon they'd finished. Well sort of, there was the little issue of no hot water in the kitchen and the canopy rangehood not installed and a shelf missing. However for two days worth of installation, not bad at all. Today The Son and I spent most of the day patching and painting the kitchen where the walls had come down and painting the ceiling. Hard yakka.

So here's some pics, again, over to flickr for details.

Next up blinds, floor covering and toilet renovation.