anita meade - simple.creative.life

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:

  

  
 

Making Merry Monday #22

Today's MMM cards are the simplest of simple, but the use of Stampin' Up's gorgeous ribbon gives them just the right amount of embellishment. Their ribbons are just delish! I'm especially smitten with the super wide stripey ribbon from the current spring mini catalogue.

The "Merry & Bright" sentiment is is not a stamp at all - I've simply used a "Christmassy" font to type "Merry & Bright"  in an MS Word document and printed it out on my ink-jet printer. I told you it was simple!

INGREDIENTS: (All Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, River Rock (retired), Riding Hood Red, Whisper White.

Ribbon: Riding Hood Red 1 1/4" striped grosgrain (spring mini catalogue), Riding Hood Red5/8" striped grosgrain.

Other: Antique brass hodge-podge buckle, ink-jet printer and MS Word.

I've started on a few little Christmas stitching projects too. Here's some cute little tree ornaments I've whipped up recently. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I really love Christmas! :)

   

 

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a very Merry Monday. Love Anita. xxx
 
 

My Creative Space

Ta-dah!

Excuse the blurry pic (taken by my seven year old!), but here I am with my completed granny square blanket. Lots of lying around on the couch recovering from my op has given me the chance to finish it off this week. Here are a couple of closer photos:

When I got out of bed this morning I found Jayden lying in the beanbag in the rumpus room watching TV  with this blanket over him. That brought a smile to my face - it is keeping my boys warm and cosy already :)

I'm also in the process of making a gorgeous bag (from a pattern by Anni Downs). Here are a couple of craft room pics so you can see it in progress. The appliqued patch (with the flower basket) is going to be the front pocket on the bag. The main fabric is red - my favourite.

 

It's wet and wintery here in Melbourne today. I'm staying tucked up at home playing with my crafty stuff (and avoiding my ironing!) I feel sorry for the teachers from Jayden's school who are taking two busloads of kids to Healesville Sanctuary for an excursion today. What rotten weather for a day out! On the up-side, at least the rain is falling steadily over Melbourne's water catchments. Yay! That's always something to celebrate :)

Thanks for visiting today. Hope your Thursday is a good one.  Love Anita. xxx

PS.  For more creative spaces, head over to Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo. You'll be glad you did!
 
 

Making Merry Monday #21

Hi again. Has it really been a whole week since I last posted on my blog? I have been kind of pre-occupied this week - I had a little surgery last Wednesday to repair a hernia I've had since I was pregnant with Corey 6 years ago. I thought it was finally time to get it attended to, as it had become more and more troublesome over recent months. All went well, and while I'm a little sore and sorry for myself, I'm improving every day. I'm sure I'll be back to normal very soon. I'm hoping to use my quiet "recovery time" this week for a little creating. I've been working on my crocheted blanket today - it's coming along beautifully but I've run out of black wool, so I'm hoping to pick some up this week so I can finish it off.

This weeks Making Merry Monday card is a bit of a cheat :) I actually made and photographed this one last week, but I kept it up my sleeve as I wasn't sure if I'd be well enough to come up with much after my surgery. Turns out I would have been fine, but I have this one all done, so I'll share it with you today. The photo is a little crooked - sorry about that!

SUPPLIES USED (all Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Riding Hood Red, River Rock (retired), Always Artichoke

Stamp sets: Spotlight on Christmas, Winter Post, Best Yet

Other: Square Punches.

I really like the "old world" feel of this card - it's really super simple (just cardstock and ink) but it has a lovely charm. Using the Naturals Ivory cardstock instead of Very Vanilla adds to the effect, as it just has a bit more warmth and character to it.

Anyway, that's my Making Merry Monday #21 creation. Hopefully I'll be back to normal programming here on my blog in the days and weeks to come. Thanks for visiting today. Hope your weekend was fun. Looking forward to doing some blog hopping this week - if you've got something you think I'd like to see, please leave me a comment/link. I'm always on the lookout for creative inspiration. Have a great week. Love Anita. xxx

 

Making Merry Monday #20

Hi everyone, I'm back! Didn't know I was away? Well we skipped out of town for a short holiday at Echuca last week. We went along with my Mum & Dad and my gorgeous nephews Jack and Cooper (unfortunately their parents had to work so they couldn't come with us). I will share a few pics of our holiday soon, but first I think we need to get on to this weeks MMM cards -  there are 2 of them!

  

 

These cards use basically the same ingredients, I've just varied the size of the card. Here's what I've used:

SUPPLIES USED (all Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Old Olive

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, River Rock (retired)

Stamp sets: Spotlight on Christmas, Merry Merry (retired)

Patterned Paper: Holiday Treasures DSP

Other: Old olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Old Olive button, 1 3/8 " square punch, Large 5 petal flower punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crystal Effects,

Thanks for visiting today. I'll be back with some more holiday details and pics later on.

Hope your Monday is turning out to be a Merry one! Love Anita. xxx