anita meade - simple.creative.life

My creative space - apron making.

My creative space is a little late today. This afternoon I made this cute, simple apron (from a tutorial I found here called "Apron in an hour". I think it took me a little more than an hour, but I'm really pleased with the result. I only have one question. Why aren't my ties long enough to tie in a bow once I've wrapped them around my waist like the ones in the tutorial? I already know the answer.....I am guessing my waist circumference is quite a bit larger than Jona's! LOL! Next time I'll have to make longer straps (seeing as I don't seem to be having much success in getting a smaller waist!)

Thanks for visiting my creative space today. Lots more to see over at Kirsty's. See you again soon. Love Anita. xxx

Cool cars on a craft blog? What the.....?

Despite what you think, I have not fallen off the face of the earth! lol! We went home to Myrtleford for the weekend, which was great but it throws me out of kilter a bit. Our flying trip was not just to visit my folks, but to visit the huge hotrod show in Bright. My hubby is a hotrod enthusiast. In fact he owned a very cool hotrod when I met him - but we needed a deposit to buy a house so unfortunately it had to be sold. I've felt guilty about getting rid of his "toy" ever since - even though he assures me he's not too scarred by the experience :) Here's a really poor-quality photo of his beloved car, taken many years ago.

Anyway, we went to the Bright Rod Run and, I swear to you, I've never seen anything like it. I have been brought up with an interest in cool cars, thanks to my Dad, and while I don't know anything about engines and the mechanical side of things, I do appreciate a beautiful car. Let me tell you, some of the cars we saw on the weekend were works of art. The amazing colours, shapes, paintwork etc were truly a feast for the eyes. 

 

 

This one (below) was my favourite colour. The paintwork was amazing in real life. I can see why they call this colour "Candy Apple Red"

 

This one (below) was on the cover of a recent hot rod magazine (Cruzin') It was great to see it in real life. Those flames were amazing!

 

 

 

I think Kermit had a great day out at the Rod Run - must have been hot sitting up there though! The temperature was 34 degrees! The kids did really well considering how intense the heat was out in that sun.

This purple car was incredible too. Check out the Marilyn Monroe painting on the boot. How cool is that!?!

 

Even the littlest car fans had hotrods. This little guy was having a blast.

 

I've never been to a Rod Run before and I have to say it was a great atmosphere. Really family oriented. Lots of great old rock'n'roll music. People taking pride in their cars and everyone showing a lot of admiration and respect for the hard work that goes into creating and maintaining these amazing vehicles. Danny has a wishlist as long as his arm now! Hopefully some day we will be able to get him another hotrod. I would love to be able to do that for him. It's fantastic to see someone you love really enjoying their hobby with such passion. 

I promise I'll be back with a more "craft orientated" post soon, but I hope you've enjoyed seeing what we got up to on the weekend. It was lots of fun.

My Creative Space - a longstanding UFO finally finished.

About four years ago (yes I said four!) I started to make this Christmas tree skirt. It was intended to be a "practice project" that would be for the kids Christmas tree in the rumpus room (We have two trees - see this post from last year for an explanation).  Anyway, life interfered and every Christmas since then I have sworn that I would finish it. Yesterday I finally dragged it out and finished it off. After all this time I'm not sure I even like it any more! My fabric choices would be very different now, but it's complete, it's festive and the kids like it.

Corey is always enthusiastic about whatever my latest project is. Here he is checking it out. He thought the name "Christmas tree skirt" was quite hilarious! Fancy a tree wearing a skirt! lol!

 

I have been making more items for my new Etsy Christmas store "The Making Merry Shop".

Here are some of the latest additions:

These are gift tags. I'm putting them together in a pack of five.

 

 

And these cards, in a set of four, will be added to the store today too.

 

 

Of course, my creative space wouldn't be complete without a knitting or crochet project to take along to swimming lessons or school pick up or basketball training etc. At the moment its another dishcloth in lovely green using my favourite waffle pattern.

I don't think I've shown you this little basket of homemade goodies which I recently gave to my friend Kellie who'd just given birth to her third precious daughter Mataya. It contained two crocheted beanies, a little pair of booties a little tree ornament (or door handle decoration after Christmas) with an "M" on the front and "2009" on the back, and a pretty pink fleece blanket.

I have so many projects buzzing around in my mind at the  moment that I don't know where to start. I think I need to get better at keeping a notebook of my creative ideas. Some of them fly out of my mind before I can write them down.

And there's always more inspiration to be found over at Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo. Pop over there and check out lots more creative spaces.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Thursday. Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #24

Well then, after another busy weekend, I actually do have some new cards to show you.

I've gone very traditional with the colours this week. I've used Handsome Hunter, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White cardstock this week, (with their matching inks). The stamp sets I've used are Punches Three (hostess) and Holly Jolly Holiday. I've also used SU! patterned paper (Holiday Treasures) as well as some Riding Hood Red and Mellow Moss ribbon,  some twine and a few buttons and brads too. Hope this satisfies all those traditionalists out there (my hubby included!) I've made a whole stack of them.......

 

          

The big news is ...........

........that I have made so many Christmas cards I've decided to open a brand new Etsy store completely dedicated to Christmas - "The Making Merry Shop".

 

Along with Christmas cards, I will be listing Christmas creations of all kinds, from tree ornaments to table linen and much more! All lovingly handmade by yours truly. I know lots of you out there in blog-land can probably create your own cards and Christmas goodies, but if you find yourself out of time, materials or just out of your depth with a particular craft, please pop over and support my little Chrismas shop. It will keep me off the street and in the good books with my hubby if I can sell some of my creations. Plus I just can't help myself - I'm always making something new, and there is only so much we can keep in our home!  Pop in often as I'll be adding items to this "all-year-round" Christmas store continually.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope this Monday is a truly merry one for you :)

                                Love Anita. xxx

My creative space - a bit of cutting, patching and arranging going on here.

Here's what has become of that lovely pile of fabrics I showed you in last weeks creative space.....I have actually started a little 3 week course at my local patchwork shop, to make a simple quilt. Whilst I've made one quilt before, it was a long time ago and I thought a refresher class would help me get my rotary cutting and machine piecing skills up to scratch. I am not one to take classes generally (I am stubborn and often prefer to teach myself from a book etc) but I really enjoyed this relaxed little class. There were only two of us there (plus the teacher) which made for lots of individual attention.

I've laid out all my blocks and rearranged them 100 times (!) and I think I'm pretty happy with the placement at the moment. Will probably rearrange them another 100 times though before I'm settled......looking at the picture now I can see a few blocks that need to be swapped around.....

Well that's my space right now - quilt blocks laid out on the loungeroom floor. My craft room is a disaster area! Not much creativity happening in there right now! Thanks for stopping by. Please visit Kootoyoo for more creative spaces - there are oodles of them listed over there!

See you again soon, Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #23

Not much to show for MMM this week. We've been feeling the effects of a very BIG week! Jayden has tonsillitis, and I have had a horror couple of days with my fibromyalgia. I have just popped a photo in of some of the cards I've been making that are sitting on top of my printer. Same materials as last week. If you have any specific questions please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back, and better, very soon I hope. Love Anita. xxx

My creative space - hours spent at the patchwork shop....

Here's what I came home with after wandering around in the "Aladdin's cave" that is Gail B's patchwork shop for a very long time today:

It's for a new project I'm starting soon. There were just so many gorgeous fabrics to choose from but I had know idea what I was looking for. In the end, it was these beautiful designs that captured my heart :) 

These patterns came in the mail today too.(Danny has expressed his amazement at how lovely packages keep arriving in the mail for me......ahem-mm......)

Some more projects for my to-do list. So many creations to make, so little time......

 

For more creative spaces, where craft might actually be occurring today, visit the lovely Kirsty at Kootoyoo.

Thanks for stopping by today. Love Anita. xxx

My swap parcel has arrived.

Look at what was in my mailbox this morning - a lovely package from Kylie, sent as part of the Jelly Wares washcloth swap.

This is the very first swap I've ever taken part it, and it was so much fun that I'm sure it will be the first of many. It is as much fun to come up with a parcel of goodies for someone else to enjoy, as it is to receive a package in the mail from your swap partner.

Thanks so much Kylie for the gorgeous washcloth and great seeds. As a very basic knitter, I find the design of this washcloth quite mind-boggling! LOL!

Just check out the fantastic detail and texture of Kylie's work. Beautiful!

Thanks also to the lovely Jodie over at Jelly Wares for organising the swap. You are a gem!

Have a wonderful day everyone.......I have a birthday cake to bake, so I'd better get off this computer! Bye for now, love Anita. xxx

Birthday Boy!

                         

                       Look who's six today!

 

     

 

   

         Happy Birthday Corey! We love you to bits. xxx

"Show and Tell" - a Hatched and Patched bag I made :)

Hi again, I have something else to show you that I finished off last night. It's a cute bag made from red (of course) sandcastle fabric. The pattern is from the little book by Anni Downs (of Hatched and Patched) called Simple Pleasures. I have so say I just love how it turned out. I've been wanting to make myself a new bag for ages and when I saw this pattern I just had to give it a go. Let me tell you, sewing is not my strongest craft, by any means. I am definitely a beginner, but I am working on improving my skills, and I'm loving every second of it! Anni Downs is one of my favourite designers and I can see there will be lots more of her projects coming to life in my craft room. Here's some pics: