Summer sewing...

It has been sweatshop central here at the High Maintenance Hippy house lately with lots of embroidering and sewing for handmade Christmas gifts. Having killed my sisters sewing machine and my own (pure coincidence, truly not MY doing!) I was about to pack up and head to my Nans machine when Claire kindly (and daringly!) offered the use of her dream machine! Although almost too scared to use it one glance at my pile of UFO's convinced me and I'm so glad I did. This machine is now well and truly at the tippy top of my wishlist. Oh and yes! the dream machine thankfully came out unscathed - phew!! 

So out of the pile came:

x2 tiny skirts for a little pirate bunny we are about to welcome into our family

x2 simple twirly skirts

x1 pair of upcycled bambi cot sheet pj pants and matching top

x1 pair of pj pants made with Belle and Boo fabric and matching top with embroidered Boo and patch (please excuse the dodgy pics!)

x1 pair of upcycled vintage sheet pj pants

and x1 peasant dress with vintage doily pocket

*phew* even typing it all makes me tired. So happy with how everything has turned out though, I can't wait to see The Munchkins face at Christmas, especially as I have been telling her I'm sewing for me he he.

Till next time, xxx

PS : The pant pattern came from here and the peasant dress is my usual pattern from here :)

The Little Tea Zine...

via

Wow!! My copy of the awesome zine Isis created came today and it exceeded all my expectations! It is packed with all things tea including art, facts, quotes and stories. We made a batch of scrummy biscuits from one of the recipes straight away and I still have loads to read tomorrow. 

You must get yourself a copy immediately!! 

Till next time, xxx

Atomic Oppie finds...

The Oppie God's are indeed still smiling on me... todays little trip netted all these gorgeous melamine treasures for 50c a piece, the fab-u-lous kitchen scale for $5 and what can only be described as the prettiest plastic container/bin I have ever seen, for $3. On the bottom of the container in old lady writing is the name Jessie and I like to imagine that her and her husband owned the melamine too and she used to serve him his tea outside in it while he worked in his shed fixing and making things for their home. The blue cup was extra tannin stained and had white paint fingerprints around the handle just as if he had stopped mid job to have his drink with his wife (maybe why she only used the melamine, te he!)

The tangible history (fantasy or known!) is one of the reasons I love Op Shopping so much. Like so many other dedicated Op Shoppers I love the idea of giving forsaken souls a new lease on life in a loving home and making sure they stay away from being landfill for a long time to come. 

...and besides... they just don't make plastic containers/bins as pretty as that any more, she's beautiful!!

Till next time, xxx

*sigh* (etsy love)

Via

Oh my! Is this not the ultimate camper cushion!! *Double sigh*

Made With Love Bazaar and other fine things...

So on the weekend I had my first ever market stall at the Made With Love Bazaar in Wynyard Tasmania. It was the second market of it's kind and from the feedback received was something the NW coast was sorely missing. I am so excited to be part of such a positive event and the vibe on the day sealed the deal. It added to the fun that we were mostly all wearing 50's housewife themed outfits and aprons! Check out Sarah and Michelle's blogs for more hilarious pics of the day!!

I went in with a few others the night before and set up most of my stall/corner which was great as it took an hour and a half! Luckily the ideas and design in my head turned out how I had imagined and everything coordinated nicely. I also had Tea available with a gold coin donation to Artscape.comm which is a fantastic creative space in Wynyard where the event was held. I really was the "tearoom girl"! 

...a little corner for my friends Kateycraft crochet goodies...

 ...yummy Vanilla Bean cupcakes with Hullabaloo Natural colour...

(image via Belly Designs)

...and vintage tea cup orphan herb kits which include the soil, gravel, mesh, seeds and a drainage hole drilled in the base...

I also had the crochet Christmas baubles in the first picture which I made from Pip's awesome tutorial. The night time colour don't really do them justice as they were nice bright party light colours.

I am very proud of the fact that most of my stall was done using oppie goodies; from the vintage sheet tablecloths and backdrop to the teacups for the tea service. It is wonderful what can be found for a song at our local oppies, it really is criminal to buy new without at least looking first!

I spent all of my profits on other peoples stalls, and there was so much else I wanted to take home too! I didn't get pics of the other girls but Sarah and Michelle did as well as the Made with Love Facebook page if you would like to check them out. 

Mel from Zache Gifts did a roaring trade in her cute hair accessories and a few came home with us for pressies. I also bought a DIY kit of cold weather Lotus flower seeds which I am so excited about getting going! I have one tattoo and have always wanted to add a lotus flower to it so it is quite fitting. Claire of Baby-Boudoir fame had some gorgeous crayon rolls and as The Munchkin and I use ours quite regularly I bought one to send to a friend for Christmas. There were a few other purchases including one I made from Turning-Trixie the night before!!

The date has not yet been set for the January Bazaar but it is set to be a great one and hopefully the weather will be perfectly sunny and summery this time!! I have lots of ideas to add to my stall next time including some amigurumi owls that I just could not do this time around due to time constraints.

Till next time (and I promise it will be sooner rather than later!), xxx

PS. Isis has her much anticipated Tea Zine available in her Etsy shop now!!! Limited edition so get in quick!!!! It looks awesome and I can't wait for my copy to arrive! 

Inspired...

We have had a super-duper week of crafts here at the High Maintenance Hippy house. 

As Mr HMH seems to be constantly either sleeping or working we decided on Saturday to forgo the reno jobs and just enjoy a day at home without the threat of Daddy rushing off somewhere for The Munchkin. It was AMAZING! It was arranged that I could do some sewing for a few hours and that they would do some mainly Munchkin led crafting and playing together. I had three Dottie-Angel-Inspired cushions for Christmas presents to do and a few other bits and bobs which were nice easy projects to while away the time with.

The Munchkin suggested her and her Daddy do some creating with her new air drying clay. We are avid Mr Maker fans here and had been busting to get our hands on some for a while and when Spotlight had 40% off Crayola products a few weeks ago we snapped some up. We love homemade play dough but the clay has  that real earthy feeling so is a nice alternate sensory feeling and the fact that it literally air dries is a bonus for easily keeping the creations after.

My two crafters disappeared at one point and came back with a collection of seed pods,twigs and fronds from under a tree to decorate with. The Munchkin set about re-creating a bush scene, while Mr HMH did a little tribute to one of my brothers who is currently freezing/travelling in Europe and will be in fact having a white Christmas unheard of in Australia. 

After, The Munchkin decided she would wash all her paint brushes, and then the clay tools as well which provided some fun water play on what was actually a really hot day.

There was also pretend cafes, doctors and vets, then reading, cooking, observing tadpoles/froglets, walking the dogs and trying to get the chickens to bed as well as numerous other things. 

I have also been flat out this past week making sure I am ready for the Made With Love Bazaar on Saturday, 11th December 9am till 1pm. So looking forward to it but also running out of time to get everything done! If your are in NW Tas (or in Tasmania at all really!) you should definitely head in to check out the incredible talent of our local crafters. There is a summer, gypsy, vintage, environmentally friendly vibe and it is awesome to see the gorgeous things people are producing.

  I have been making these baubles from Pips awesome tutorial  and when contacted she was more than happy for me (or anyone for that matter!) to make them to sell!! She is an amazingly generous and crafty lady and I think all the hype surrounding Meet Me At Mikes and Pip is well founded! So yeah, I'll be selling these and...

...some of these, mainly as DIY herb planter kits which include all you need to get your little Basil or Parsley plants rocking out in their vintage teacup homes. I think they are a super cute alternative for secret Santa/Kris Kringle gifts or for some of the children on your shopping list and at $10 quite reasonable too.

 NOTE: Drilling through these was not as easy as I thought and even the extra-special diamond drill bit I bought only managed a few before it gave up the ghost. Fine bone china is HARD!! Nearly done now though thankfully!

We also made Christmas cards as a family after reading how Sarah and her family made theirs...

...and I crocheted 6 of these gorgeous Mary-Go-Round flower rings  (pictured above) to send off for the deco swap organised by this awesome lady...

...then today I started prettying up The Munchkins craft supply jars al la Dottie Angel...

...and finished off the little recycled notebook I made using this tutorial (sorry if this link was via your blog but I only saved the end result - oops, but thankyou!) to send as a mini swap for this awesome lady!

Phew! That's a lot of projects and links for one week, but I love that the blogging community is so inspiring. Don't you!

I must apologise for my lack of posts, and for the apparent lack of visits to your blogs too. I think we are all pretty flat out at this time of year and I know I am finding it hard to get on to the actual computer and leave comments. I am however most certainly lurking/reading/stalking your blogs via iPhone as much as ever! Hopefully after this weekend I will be a bit more free to resume rambling on your posts too - ha ha :)

Till next time, xxx