Bought, Found, Made

Last weekend was relatively productive on a scale of time vs productivity.
On Saturday I had my first day alone at the bridal shop, I was horribly daunted, especially since I hadn't worked there for a while but luckily all was well and no one ran out crying so I shall call that a success.

BOUGHT
I purchased the wool* for the outside of sonic! Thanks for all your suggestions , I decided to go for the blue sky, green grass effect and I got a ball of gold wool* so I will try and figure out how to attach some gold rings. So far I have made 1 square!
*when I say wool, I really mean cheap acrylic

FOUND
On Sunday we went out for lunch at a place called Gorilla (it was delicious thanks for asking) and on the way home I spotted a pair of wooden chairs on the curb side amongst a pile of other stuff. A couple of people pulled up at the same time but I managed to nab the chairs (there was a free sign by the way). I'm going to have to pull them apart if I want to recover them but I think it will be worth the effort.

MADE
Last weekend in Tekapo, when Dave got his saw for $3, I bought a mirror. It is made of plastic and has a crack in the border but it had potential. It was poo brown when I bought it and I used some ivory spray paint to give it a few coats, then thanks to the plastic surface I lightly sanded back some of the edged and behold, one awesome shabby chic frame. I am running out of wall space so I might have to start selling things- the hoarder in me is screaming noooooo!

So all in all a productive weekend- I also sorted out my wardobe and nearly halved it in preparation for a clothes swap next week.

Enjoy the sun - long may it last!

Long Weekend Adventures

I am so stoked that after a long dreary stretch of winter we get a 3 day weekend to perk us up a bit.

Dave and I spent ours at a little town nearly smack bang in the middle of the South Island. It is also Killer's home town. I hesitate to call it a town, a village maybe? A settlement?
Anyway the place is called Omarama 'the place of light'.

We travelled down with 5 other friends, one of whom grew up there and a couple who habitated there for a while. We stayed in a holiday park in a pretty decent cabin and made ourselves at home.

The trip down was one that took way longer than it should but was totally worth it. We stopped at a farmers market in Ashburton and I picked up an awesome serving tray with a world map on it. Dave and his friend also somehow talked a lady selling honey to drop off an ice cream container full of seconds honey for their next home brew efforts (toffee apple cider anyone?)

Our next stop was as we were driving through Tekapo. A sign on the side of the road said 'jumble sale' and I couldn't resist. Sadly we arrived at the tail end of it so the good stuff was gone but Dave spotted an old band saw with a price tag of $3. Sure enough it was for sale and the ladies running the show had no idea what it was so into the boot it went. I even let them keep the change from my $5 note. It does need a motor but Dave has plans involving a washing machine motor.

We finally arrived in Omarama and set ourselves up.

The next day we headed to Lake Aviemore with our friends' family boat. I think I had been talking up my wake boarding ability but I gave it my best shot. Even though I had my wetsuit the water still seeped through and it.was.freezing. I got up second try and managed to familiarise myself with 'the controls'. I have some technique issues to work on but it will be awhile until I have access to a boat again.

On Monday I woke up aching all over and there was snow all over the hills!

We packed up and made the place look semi-presentable before having the most delicious breakfast of pancakes. We drove through the snow on the way back and made some snowmen on the side of the road.

It was so good to get out of Christchurch for a couple of days and do something a bit different and have lots of laughs.

My phone won't let me put the photos in any type of order so enjoy the non sequential events!

Sonic Completed!

Happy Friday to you! A couple of nights ago I made the final stitch on the Sonic part of my sonic blanket!

300+ squares and a decent few hours made this what it is.

He stands taller than me (!) so when I do the background I will just do one row top and bottom and then just fill it out.

I have reverted back to crocheting my old neglected black and white striped blanket while I decide on what colour to do the background.

Enjoy your long weekend Kiwis!

A Market Attempted

Matching Aprons!

The market I was in ended up being cancelled because of the weather. We woke up to some patchy blue sky but an ominous black cloud was fast approaching. Most of us stall holders gave it our best shot and tried to beat the weather but sadly it was not to be.

We met some really lovely ladies (and a few men) with stalls and got very inspired by some of the lovely makings.

Our macarons turned out awesome and they were given away to the slightly wet and bedraggled stallholders that toughed it out for an hour or so. Totally worth it!

Nom nom macaron! (vanilla with chocolate ganache!)

It just re-enforces what being part of the crafting and blogging community is all about. Community, supporting one another, having a laugh and giving things our best shot.

My amazing friend Holly who blogs over at Hollymayb organized the whole market and she is a legend! There will be another one in a few weeks on December 1st and we will be back with bells on with more awesome stock.

However, if you see something you like, feel free to get in touch, I can sell it to you for the special market prices you see in these photos!

Also big ups to Ellena, my stall-buddy. She stayed up all hours with me the last few nights perfecting the macaron recipe, sanding down the pallet art and creating awesome stencils.

Recognize this desk?

To Market, To Market

This Saturday (unless raining- pray for good weather!) I will be attending my first market as a stall-holder. My good friend Ellena will be giving me a hand. We will be selling a variety of macarons and some of my pallet art, as well as some art by El who is amazing!

Our stall will be called 'in the fox's den''. I also got some business cards printed with my blog details on and they look great. I don't have to try and remember the blog address when I tell people about my blog!

So if you are in Christchurch, head along to the market, I would love to see you!

See market details here: http://acraftmarket.blogspot.co.nz/?m=1

New (Kenwood) Toy

Last Saturday, Dave and I went to a garage sale as soon as it opened for once. We usually sleep in and go looking around 10.30ish and miss out on the good stuff. This time just after 9 we turned up and I am so glad we did!

Sitting on the ground in a box surrounded by other unloved items was a Kenwood Chef A700 mixer. Made in the 1950s out of cast steel, these bad boys never die. Sure the paint was a little worse for wear but it still worked and had all the important attachments: whisk, k-beater, dough hook and even a blender to sit on top.

The price? $85. A little steep for a garage sale ill give you that, but one of these has been on my present list for ages. They also get snapped up pretty fast on Trademe. So it was a done deal and away we walked with a pretty (and heavy) bench top assistant.

As soon as I got home and got it cleaned up I put it to good use and made a mud cake with whipped ganache. Yum!

I am still trying to figure out a name for my mixer, Ken maybe? Or Betsy?

The Traveling Stash Box

Source

A few evenings ago I got home from work to find a huge box waiting on my doorstep.

It was tied with a pretty ribbon and bulging at the seams.

The Traveling Stash Box had arrived!

The Stash box is a box full of bits and pieces that were bought with good intentions but ended up at the back of someones craft cupboard (or drawer).

But one woman's stash is another woman's treasure right? (claiming that one!)

The rules are that you take what you like as long as it gets replaced with good quality items from your stash.

I don't have decent pictures but I scored a bunch of cool strips of fabrics in grey shades and patterns for a quilt, some ribbon, a bunch of vintage fat quarters (for turning into bunting), some wool to grow my collection, and a couple of scrappy bits.

I put in a few mini canvases, some vintage green floral fabric, some lace, some embroidery thread and a few other bits and pieces.

The beginnings of the box started over at Catalina's Cottage, pop on over and say hi!