60 Second Bubble Mix

This bubble mix recipe was given to me when my baby was small, so I don’t know where it originated from.

FWS Sewing Workshops – Day 1, Wrap Skirt

Last month I was lucky enough to host two more sewing workshops for the mamas from the Kesho Leo childrens village run by  Food Water Shelter (FWS) in Arusha, Tanzania. The day before the first class, I went fabric shopping to choose the fabrics we would work with. I selected three vitenge, and ended up donating an extra one as well – the chicken one.

How I made my vegan palm oil free soap

This is my first batch of soap I have ever made. I decided make my own when I was having trouble finding soap not containing beef fat (tallow) or palm oil. If you’re unaware of the devastating effects palm oil harvesting is having on the orangutan population, I urge you to do some reading. I was very surprised to find out the other names of palm oil, and instantly recognised them as I have read them on so many products.

Anyway, back to the soap. It was fairly easy to make, and I found all the ingedients I needed at my local supermarket.

Door Stop!

I have had a fantastic suggestion this week of making something like my rattle blocks, but as a door stop! I think it’s a great idea, and something I will definitely make for myself, so this afternoon I designed a small, cute fabric door stop with a carry handle.

Flip Out Sofa Cover – Goodbye Buzz and Woody

after

My little one was given a flip out sofa by his Nan, and he loves it. I think its great too, what I don’t love are the huge pictures of Toy Story characters all over it. After looking at it for months and thinking, I really should make a cover for that, this afternoon I decided to get around to actually doing it.

Patchwork Bookmark Tutorial

What to do with lots of little fabric scraps? Turn them into a cute patchwork bookmark! This would be a cute gift to pop inside a card for an avid reader, or just to keep for yourself. Here’s mine, which will soon be available for sale along with some others in my madeit.com.au shop, and here’s how I made it.

recycled paper & fabric alternative Christmas tree

So, I don’t have a Christmas tree. I am ok with that, my one year old would love one though just so he can pull it to pieces! Anyway, I was given some maps yesterday so I wanted to make something out of them, which led me to this tutorial by Everyday Mom Ideas for a paper tree centrepiece. I made one this afternoon after collecting some sticks on our walk, but I used black and white magazine pages instead of scrapbook paper, and I also  made some  feature leaves out of scrap fabric (which I have way too much of). I think it turned out ok, and will do for an alternative Christmas tree – no plastic, completely recycled materials, and free!

Craft workshops at Kesho Leo

Thanks to the generosity of friends and family for donating the supplies needed and/or cash for craft stuff, I have recently been lucky enough to host three craft workshop afternoons at Kesho Leo, an eco-friendly children’s village run by foodwatershelter.org.au, just outside Arusha, Tanzania. I volunteered with fws for the year 2009, and it was so wonderful to be back to see the mamas and kids again. The mamas have learned to sew since being employed as live-in house mamas at Kesho Leo, and have been making bags and purses for the past couple of years which they sell in town. I decided to give them something a bit different to do, something which I was hoping would spark some creative interest and make use of otherwise wasted materials. Before I left I got googling, and found a lot of different things to make with recycled magazine paper. I felt this would fit in well with fws values, as there is no paper recycling facility available in the area so this paper would otherwise go to the local dump and be burned. Why not make something beautiful with it instead?

Tiring work for some! My baby enjoys a nap while I get crafty

 

We started with paper beads, a tutorial I found here. These are quite simple to make, and you would never know they are made from paper.. and they make gorgeous unique necklaces!

Next thing we did was make some beautiful gift bows. One brightly coloured magazine page makes one bow, and I thought they would be a hit at the Arusha Christmas fair this year. Another Christmas themed project we made were tiny origami “lucky stars”, which can be strung together to make a garland.

Oliva’s beautiful bow

Lastly we used scraps of fabric and spare buttons to make some fabric yoyos. Some fabric scraps are too small to use for anything, and a project like this is a great way to use them, and also for developing fiddly hand-sewing skills.

 

As with everything in Africa, these projects took a lot longer to teach than I expected so unfortunately I didn’t get to the other craft projects I wanted to show the mamas. On my list were paper bowls and coaster sets, patchwork (for bags, cushions and purses), baby bibs and nappy covers. Oh well, there’s always next time I guess!

upcycling old magazines…

I’ve been given a pile of old magazines, so I’m getting crafty! After going through them to cut out pictures to stick in a little book for my bub, I began experimenting. First up I made some beads. I first seen this type of bead in Africa, and they are surprisingly easy to make. I have found that one magazine page makes about 24 beads, quite a lot really! Here is the link to the tutorial by Mzuri Beads http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Paper-Beads/.


Next I tried a magazine paper bowl which I have seen in a couple of different places. This obviously used a lot more paper, and was very messy! It is surprisingly strong and hard wearing though, and the best thing is it won’t break when dropped. Perfect for having around at the moment, my babies latest thing is to swipe everything off tables onto the ground with his arm! I think I need to keep practising with the bowls to see if I can make them neater, and also to try and make a wider, flatter baby proof dish for my coffee table. This is a tutorial for a simliar bowl: http://crabandfish.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/diy-decorative-bowl-from-old-magazines.html

DSLR pouch

I love photography, and on the first day of 2011 I began the 365 Project. The challenge is to take a photo every day for an entire year, although with all the sewing I have been doing lately I have become very slack with it. I do still take my DSLR most places with me so as not to be caught out without a camera if a photo opportunity arises, and I have developed a bad habit of just throwing my beloved camera into my handbag with nothing more protecting it than a plastic bag. So last night with some time on my hands I finally got around to another project I have been meaning to do, a little padded bag for my Nikon, small enough to put into my big handbag, but nice enough to use on its own with space for a phone and purse if I am just popping out quickly. I didn’t want it to look obviously like a camera bag, or as chunky and boring as one of the conventional black camera bags either.


I made it out of African kitenge with chocolate minky lining. For protective padding I used a layer of thick polar fleece in between the layers. I added a small pocket inside to hold spare SD cards, which is large enough to hold the lens cap while I am shooting. I had been thinking about all sorts of ways to enclose the bag, from using a zip, or a large flap with velcro, but I decided the handiest way was to make a drawstring which when pulled closed would form an ideal strap for carrying. I am thinking now though that I could have made the strap longer with a padded section in the centre for shoulder comfort, as I prefer to wear bags across my body rather than just hanging off my shoulder, but this one I made with the intention of putting inside my large tote bag so it’s perfect for that.