crafty bits in life

i was about to bin this support cushion (mum used for driving years ago)... then i thought, i might be able to rescue it and give it another life...

didn't have a pattern...
just draped over the cushion with my salvation army fabric remnant...

also added my blue t shirt and a zip from my collection...





now everyone is happy with extra back support in front of the computer or on the couch...

DIY upholstery with leather hide

many moons ago, i was holiday in hk & came across a suburb of what i could only described as paradise for anyone into DIY or arts and crafts or making crafty things...
i was in sham sui po in kowloon, the few streets i recalled were:
Cheung Sha Road
Nam Cheong Street.
these streets and the side streets off it were dotted with shops with full of fabric, buttons, ribbon, feathers, embellishments etc etc - ie craft heaven!
one particular shop - could not remember exact location, was selling leather hides - sheets upon sheets... diff shades... diff thickness...
this was were i got this gem!

with a bit of bargaining... HKD $500+ for a 2.45sq metre worth of deep chocolate, velvety upholstery leather...
bargain!
at the time, it was an impulse buy, thinking, " hmmm... wouldn't it be good if i could reupholster my stools in the kitchen with leather... the vinyl seats are nasty."

nearly a year later ( it has been sitting patiently in a plastic bag)... i finally got my tools out...
i didn't bother to sand down and re-varnish the timber frame... that could be another project in itself later...
i got the "seat" off by unscrewing...

to remove the vinyl with multiple staples was too much work even though i am a proud owner of a staple removing tool (acquired during the carpet removing days)

i simply cut the leather to size, stretched and stapled...

and then...

it was just a matter of screwing the seat back...

the vinyl surely glistens, but the leather is more forgiving in hot humid weather... no more sweaty bums and thighs...
3 more leather seats to go and many more leather headbands / purses / handbags on the way with the plenty of off cuts (it pays of with my over estimation & impulse buying sometimes!)

here comes another "woolies", here comes the bargains...

months b4 we witnessed what the revamped mega-coles did to the prices at the most beautiful mall in the north & surrounds...
price war looms again once more in the north...
this time appears surely to be that of woolies vs coles...
and shoppers like us will be able to save few bucks pre-x'mas!
on opening day, at woolies superstore, there were bargains galore... salmon fillets for <$17/kg...
med banana prawns for <$10/kg...
not to mention "abbots village" for $1.25 (usually $3 when on special) - how on earth do they make money on that? surely it must be below cost price...
peaches for <$4/kg, double brie for <$4, 4L bulla for <$6 (unseen for a long long time)... and the list goes on...
woolies superstore also stock mega-size items, like super large laundry powder & 24-toilet rolls - economy of scale at work...
the independent shop owners at the village won't be happy though...

jam for the summer

i was at big-Al yesterday when i spotted strawberries for 79c a punnet!
when i went back today (thinking to make a whole summer supply of strawberry jam), the strawberries were 99c a punnet...
no matter... it didn't deter me... i got 15 more punnets and 3 bags of sugar and a bag of lemons...
resulting in 11 jars of delish strawberry jam...

so now i can savour my quince jam for my cheese indulgences...
**yep... had to cheat and use jamsetter, 2 packets**

hippo embroidery bag

i need to cheer myself up after the mini disaster of the printing press (still in the making)... what way better than making a bag! esp a hippo embroidery bag!

Vintage Royal Addition

mcduck and i have decided to type out the wedding invitation... in order to do the typing, we would need a functioning typewriter...
we knew that there must be many of them hiding under cobwebs in people's garages and under their beds, but sadly, we also knew that we didn't have one of our own...
i had been ebay watching for the last 2 weeks...
and finally won this great vintage bargain! $3.25!
I brought it home today... it does show it's age encased in the slightly faded black box...

It's base is securely locked to the bottom of the case for easy travelling... not so easy though should one carry it around town... it weighs several kgs...

not much info on the internet... but i guess it is pre-war or made b4 the 1950s...


and amazingly... all the keys work! and no sticky keys... but it requires slow typing, otherwise it gets abit jumpy...

it will be making alot of typing noices shortly, in the next few months...

DIY bridal faux fur shawl

weather in september is quite unpredictable... i need something warm to go with my simple dress for our special day...
took me a day to make - it looks simple, hanging over the lamp in the lounge... just a piece of faux fur with lining, pearl buttons etc...
was it that easy to make? hmmm

the idea of a shawl came when i dug out my chance purchase from HK... a piece of good quality faux fur (for i think only HKS $10 or may be $40, either way, a HUGE bargain, considering it would retail for $69/m here)
the silk lining (2m in all) was more $, HKD $90/m (still cheap at AUD $18/m)...
i thought and thought about the design - should i do a bolero? should i do a short coat? should i do a shoulder wrap with a ribbon? at the end i decided - just do a throw! a full cover shawl that could be folded in half into a shoulder only wrap... the more simple it is the better (could then be used in the future at other occasions)

so i got to work today... first preparing the faux fur fabric... drawing out the seamline (no pattern)
lots of pinning...
using wet tea towel to set the direction of the fur b4 trimming... tedious! cutting the fur at the edges, so that sewing by machine would be possible - even more tedious!
i managed to carelessly cut a hole through the faux fur... so had to take extra time to repair...
more pinning!
the trimmed edge could clearly be seen!
now it was time to sew the edges and make measurements and cuts for the silk lining... working with silk was equally hard - very slippery!
finally the two long edges were sewn!

followed by the shorter edges and finished!
not really actually... cos i still had to sew in the buttons (to secure the folded shawl)... the buttons were to be sewn along one of the two long edges... lovely buttons! they cost more than the faux fur!
the other long edge would have the button hole ribbon sewn on... in order to make the button hole ribbon i thought it would be easier to do some braiding...
looping and sewing...

there we go...
secured :)
i have to say i was pretty sick of all the fluff (from fur cutting) and the hand sewing (the button hole ribbons)... but the end result was not bad...

here, worn as a full shawl...

surely will keep me warm!