Stroller Renovator

We renovated an old stroller with the cute-ness factor than modern prams seem to lack, for Claudine's main Christmas present this year. It was also impossible for Claud to seat herself in which, after the speedy flattening of two previously op-shopped prams, was a necessity. With a cat lick of a sand, a quick scratch patch up with spray paint, and cool fabric from Sew Pretty, this Tri-ang Cyclops from the 1970's was an easy fixer-upper, and now looks like this.

                                                             
                                                                        AFTER

With some saved from the landfill plastic sheeting instead of wood inside, the cover is now removable and machine washable.

Claudine was ecstatic about the pram, though she does tend to use it to cart books rather than babies. Perhaps it was her baby-wearing upbringing, or maybe she's a future librarian?!

Anyway...

                                               Back in the day it would have looked like this.

I did contemplate making a sunshade. The fringing would have been fabulous, but I couldn't work out how to do as all the metal hardware was missing. And Claud would probably try and sit on it.

                                                                          BEFORE
When we found it down the op-shop (for the extortionate amount of $20) it looked like this, and was also minus the fan-dangled sun shade bit. The retro charm look did not extend to the musty smell. It had to go.

                                                                         AFTER

There's only one way this could get cuter. I have to make Claud and "baba" some matching accessories out of the leftovers from that glorious fabric!

If you think this is great wait until you see what Cat did with her family heirloom

The DIY Tree Swing

A birthday surprise!

Happiness is homemade.

(top back of an old chair, rope, op-shopped plastic flowers and ivy)

Happy 2ness Claudine x

The Doll House Do up # 7 trillion and 13

"It's time to light the lights, it's time to turn the music up, it's time to get things started on the dolly house show tonight"

Except no.

It's not finished and, the I'm a Giant Challenge deadline has been extended (probably to Feb 1st). 

Yes! Phew! etc. 

I bet your all making a collective "on no, more months of tedious updates" groan

YES! and here's the latest.

                     I'm too tired to make much commentry, so I'll just play some muzak in the background.

"Chestnuts roasting by an open fire"

"Jack frost nipping at your nose"

The oven door still needs a bit of work: recess the hinges so it looks less retarded, and paint the door more so it looks less like a dishwasher. Sink prised from a second hand dolly sink I chopped up. This 'little' project was labour intensive to say the least and I'm glad its over and I can just fanny around with little cute stuff now the hard works done!

"I know it's been said"

The bench is a self contained unit so Claud can play house and move it around.

Before

 

"Many times many ways"

Nearly after

"merry chritsmas, to youuuu"

Fridge-from rescued from landfill damaged dolly wardrobe thingy; in need of a door handle, shelves and food

"Jingle bells"

Yes, the bath finally dried. TFFT. Taps are from chopped up kitchen sink toy and a piece of bent wire; towel rack is a piece of wire and two of those screw-in ring thingys with which my nanna used to use to hang her net curtains.

Might paint them all gold, might not.

Toilet artwork to come...

Blind made from a one of those plastic tourist tat fans to come...

Towel curtesy of an op-shopped YSL facecloth.

"Jingle bells"

5 coats of paint and a coat of gloss. Each with a six hour drying period between. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

"Jingle all the way"

"oh what fun it is to ride"

I've decided I'll paint the doll house to match the mini doll house.

"A one horse open sleigh"

Bought some c.u.t.e mini books, but gonna have a go at making my own.

any suggestions for amusing author/titles welcomed

"Hey"

Finally got the lamp sussed. Now need bedside tables to sit it on. Claud's blocks might have to do unless I get some inspiration.

"Jingle Bells"

Mucking round with accessories and arrangements here. Less is defo more where the orange 'bookcase' is concerned. Might make my own now there's more time...

Insert applause and wolf whistles here.

Righto, I'm off on a birthday baking/cooking christmas dinner for a million at our place frenzy now so don't cry, but there won't be another doll house update until the new year.

So merry christmas from Roz, and merry christmas from me x

More Christmas Map-ness

It's been too long with out a adult-sized map craft project, so I'll simply wish you...

Made with the only map I could find in my extensive hoard that didn't have NZ at the end of the earth paper!

                                       (My tacky-ed up version Emily Henderson's stylish number)

My op-shopping month or so has...

                                                            ... had a Japanese theme...

After a bit of googling I established that this Kokeshi doll is not in fact standing in a rather short shelter, but wearing an 'old fashioned straw raincoat'! A Japanese tourist souvenir.

England had gonks. Japan had Kokeshi.

I know which I'd rather collect.

I could seriously get into these.

If you go look at this blog you too will start to covet Kokeshis.

I found a whole load of other Japanese style junk too

Washi paper craft book

Bookmarks.

Pen and pillow cases.

And I found another kokeshi. At the op-shop price of cheap on Trademe. Isn't she lovely.

Signed on the bottom. I love her demure expression, eyelashes and the sakura on the front.

Sharing my op-shopping prowess at Sophies.

Giveaway day! now closed!

Want a chance to win loads of different kinds of crafty giveaways?

Course you do!

Want to find more cool crafty orientated blogs?

Course you do!

Do what I'm doing and join in this.

Go on. Then I can (hopefully) win more stuff!

                                            Giveaway day linky do-dadery at Sewmamasew.

                                                     Thanks for the heads up about this Deb
                                                       (great giveaway on her blog BTW)

                                                               Ok. Here's my contribution...

1. Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule. Key sewing/blogging guru. For inspiration.

2. A rik-raked, spotty egg shaped pin cushion. Essential sewing tool and possible fertility charm.

3. Possibly the best vintage sheet in the world. (Just the one.I'm keeping the other. It would be maytrdom to give away both.) Material (if you can bear to chop it up).

(all thrifted, but immaculate)

and YES, I'm quite happy to post overseas.

To win simply tell me in the comments how ace my blog is what the best handmade gift you ever received was and why; and make sure I can contact youvia your comment or leave an email address. And then scoot on over to the Sewmamasew blog to enter all the other giveways (sharpish as they all close on Dec 16th).

                                             Giveaway closes/Winner announced on Dec 16th.

It was to hard to chose, so many amazing handmade gifts, so i did the random number generator thing and the winner is Amanda from City Girl Gone Costal (hey Amanda, great blog, me follow!)

Op-shopped Christmas #2

Thrifted tins. For every occassion. Christmas included.

Caption anyone?

Always makes me wonder (and worry) what the photographer was doing to 'make the kiddies smile'!

Usually contains all the chrismas decos' that Claud makes at playcentre out of beads and baked playdough, that I'm going to keep forever.

My personal faves (I have a pair). Cake tins.

Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria.

I haven't been but it's on our list for next time we have a northern hemisphere christmas.

Sharing at Sophies

DIY doll house bookcase

AFTER

BEFORE

Daggy dolly house with do-up potential

                                      GETTING THERE

Hey Tiki!

AFTER

 Bookcase.

Another fine dolly-house marae do-up!

Neat bookshelves, where the books don't flop over all the time.

It is a happy day for my tidy loving heart.

Sharing my creative renovative space here

I'm a Giant Challenge- Doll House Do-Up #11 (The christmas special)

A week to go, a year's worth of doll housing to do!

You get the idea where I'm going from this photo. But it's going to take a while to get there. And a lot more glue. We will have shelves, cupboard doors that open, and a wee curtain to screen under the sink.

Little sticky velcro dots for burners. A chopped up bit of op-shopped randomness for dials.

and a hinged oven door that actually opens is the plan.

Another excuse for fimo food (turkey!)

I tracked down an actual doll-house shop in Christchurch this week, in someones garage. Sadly it was full of pretty naff Victorian stuff, though I quite liked this pottery vase and mini wooden spoons.

I went there looking for a fridge. The woman offered me a brown cupboard and while I ummed and ahhed and then politely declined I was thinking "that thing? Even I could make a better fridge than that thing!"

And the cool thing is, it's no idle boast now, I know I can, and I will!

(Just not right now. I have a year or so until Claud get this monster, and I have a birthday and Christmas to plan, and a small child who thinks they don't have to go nigh-nighs until it's dark ie 10.30pm most nights this week)

The quilt is also a work in progress. I might have finished it by now had I not mistaken the required size of 'yoyo'. The maker I got is way too small, but instead of buying another I've decided, in the interest of thrift to just persevere. So this too is going to take a long while. The wee size also demanded an ultra fine fabric, so I've used an opped silk shirt (red) and pillow case (white).

ps I know a yoyo is supposed to have a hole in the middle, and be round, but they're too tiny to be easily manipulated, so we will have, eventually, a quilt of puckered-up-monkey-bums iced-gems instead!

It's nothing if not unique this dolly house I tell you!

The only other real progress is in the bathroom

                                 Yes, still waiting for the modeling clay to dry. But I got a teeny tiny rubber duckie!

                    So yes, not a lot happened here. Thought I'd fob you off a Christmas special instead.
                   Just because the doll house is unfinished, we can't let the girls miss out on Christmas can we?

Christmas lunch anyone?

Tree and nativity? Check.

Warm hearth

With stylish Christmas/all year around deco above the mantel piece a mini version of Emily Henderson's awesome one!

Front door

and best of all?

Presents!

Merry Christmas Roz!

Ok, ok, I'll try and achieve something by the 15th, the challenge end date.

(And then I'll have a go at finishing it sometime in the 2012...)

See thee next week x