anita meade - simple.creative.life

My creative space - apron making.

My creative space is a little late today. This afternoon I made this cute, simple apron (from a tutorial I found here called "Apron in an hour". I think it took me a little more than an hour, but I'm really pleased with the result. I only have one question. Why aren't my ties long enough to tie in a bow once I've wrapped them around my waist like the ones in the tutorial? I already know the answer.....I am guessing my waist circumference is quite a bit larger than Jona's! LOL! Next time I'll have to make longer straps (seeing as I don't seem to be having much success in getting a smaller waist!)

Thanks for visiting my creative space today. Lots more to see over at Kirsty's. See you again soon. Love Anita. xxx

My Creative Space - a longstanding UFO finally finished.

About four years ago (yes I said four!) I started to make this Christmas tree skirt. It was intended to be a "practice project" that would be for the kids Christmas tree in the rumpus room (We have two trees - see this post from last year for an explanation).  Anyway, life interfered and every Christmas since then I have sworn that I would finish it. Yesterday I finally dragged it out and finished it off. After all this time I'm not sure I even like it any more! My fabric choices would be very different now, but it's complete, it's festive and the kids like it.

Corey is always enthusiastic about whatever my latest project is. Here he is checking it out. He thought the name "Christmas tree skirt" was quite hilarious! Fancy a tree wearing a skirt! lol!

 

I have been making more items for my new Etsy Christmas store "The Making Merry Shop".

Here are some of the latest additions:

These are gift tags. I'm putting them together in a pack of five.

 

 

And these cards, in a set of four, will be added to the store today too.

 

 

Of course, my creative space wouldn't be complete without a knitting or crochet project to take along to swimming lessons or school pick up or basketball training etc. At the moment its another dishcloth in lovely green using my favourite waffle pattern.

I don't think I've shown you this little basket of homemade goodies which I recently gave to my friend Kellie who'd just given birth to her third precious daughter Mataya. It contained two crocheted beanies, a little pair of booties a little tree ornament (or door handle decoration after Christmas) with an "M" on the front and "2009" on the back, and a pretty pink fleece blanket.

I have so many projects buzzing around in my mind at the  moment that I don't know where to start. I think I need to get better at keeping a notebook of my creative ideas. Some of them fly out of my mind before I can write them down.

And there's always more inspiration to be found over at Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo. Pop over there and check out lots more creative spaces.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Thursday. Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #24

Well then, after another busy weekend, I actually do have some new cards to show you.

I've gone very traditional with the colours this week. I've used Handsome Hunter, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White cardstock this week, (with their matching inks). The stamp sets I've used are Punches Three (hostess) and Holly Jolly Holiday. I've also used SU! patterned paper (Holiday Treasures) as well as some Riding Hood Red and Mellow Moss ribbon,  some twine and a few buttons and brads too. Hope this satisfies all those traditionalists out there (my hubby included!) I've made a whole stack of them.......

 

          

The big news is ...........

........that I have made so many Christmas cards I've decided to open a brand new Etsy store completely dedicated to Christmas - "The Making Merry Shop".

 

Along with Christmas cards, I will be listing Christmas creations of all kinds, from tree ornaments to table linen and much more! All lovingly handmade by yours truly. I know lots of you out there in blog-land can probably create your own cards and Christmas goodies, but if you find yourself out of time, materials or just out of your depth with a particular craft, please pop over and support my little Chrismas shop. It will keep me off the street and in the good books with my hubby if I can sell some of my creations. Plus I just can't help myself - I'm always making something new, and there is only so much we can keep in our home!  Pop in often as I'll be adding items to this "all-year-round" Christmas store continually.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope this Monday is a truly merry one for you :)

                                Love Anita. xxx

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

"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!
 
 

A scrapbook page.....what a surprise!

Yes, you read the title correctly. This morning I scrapped a page using some photos which I came across while fluffing around in the craft room. I just love the combination of colours in these photos - the pale blue, red and white. I used them as the basis for this layout. I need to get a longer USB cable for my printer since setting up the new desk, so my printer is not connected at the moment. I decided to just handwrite a little bit of journaling in white gel pen. I don't love my handwriting, but it is a part of who I am so I think it's important to use it on my layouts from time to time. Our boys really are our whole world. Having this happy little family is a dream come true for both myself and Danny. We really do thank God every day for blessing us with happy, healthy, gorgeous little boys.

Thanks so much for all your comments on yesterday's post. It is nice to know that other creative folks out there just "get" my passion for making things. While I was quite shocked at the lack of manners from this particular person, I can't say my creative spirit was dented in any way. It would take more that one thoughtless comment to impact upon my need for creative expression. While I don't claim to be the world's greatest artist by any stretch of the imagination, I would never allow anyone or anything to take away the gift of creativity from me.

Thanks so much for visiting my little blog today. I hope your day is a happy one.

                                     Love Anita. xxx

My Creative Space - still stitching.

 

                

 

    Still stitching in every spare moment. This week it is more beautiful designs by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. I really must start constructing some projects from my stitcheries.  Picked up these yummy fabrics, including a buttery-coloured strip of chenille, on my visit to Gail Bs last week.

I was quite taken aback by one of the Mum's in my son's basketball team at training last night. Upon seeing me stitching away, she rudely commented that she could "think of better things to do with (her) time". I was gobsmacked! And of course I couldn't come up with some witty retort on the spot. I'd like to know what life-changing activity she does in her spare time. I could guess at a few of them, but I'm not rude enough to write them down here. Anyhow, I don't feel the need to justify my crafty pursuits to anyone. I pity her for not having the joy of creativity in her life. I intend to keep on creating as long as I'm breathing, and when I'm gone some day, my children and grandchildren will have my lovingly made creations to remember me by. What better way to spend your time is there?

    Thanks for visiting my creative space today. More inspirations can be found over at Kootoyoo.

                          Have a Happy Thursday. Love Anita. xxx

My creative space......peace in stitching.

    I have a yearning to hand stitch at the moment. As I've said before, I've learned to just go with whatever creative inspirations strike me, not fight against them. I don't think "ooh I should be scrapbooking, or stamping, or crocheting" for example. I just go with the flow and do what makes me happy and nurtures my creative soul.

    Anyway, at the moment it's handstitching. I have dug through my pile of Homespun magazines, had a couple of visits to lovely patchwork shops (Mrs Martins Quilt Shop in Monbulk and Patchwork with Gail B in Bayswater) and even sketched up a couple of my own designs to stitch. Here's what I've stitched in the last week. The redwork stitchery is my own design and the little ladybug stitchery is by one of my all-time favourite designers, Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched.

 

 

 

    When I went up to Monbulk and met the lovely Karen Martin at her shop, we were chatting about the friendships that are formed through craft. It is true that some of the most wonderful bonds are formed through sharing a love of a particular hobby or craft, whatever it may be. I have made some dear, dear friends online and in real life through my papercrafting. I think it is that crafters all understand the passion we have for creativity - how integral it is to our happiness and wellbeing. What joy there is in encouraging each others talents and applauding each others beautiful creations. The list of projects to create is endless. I think I am going to try to get to some sewing classes sometime soon. I have many long hours at home alone these days and whilst I love the solitude, I think a regular get-together with other crafty chicks would be really good for me. It would help me to grow my skills and stop me from being such a recluse! I tend to be self-taught in most crafts as I have a steely determination to "work things out for myself" and I don't want to be seen as the "dummy" who doesn't know how to do something. I need to get over myself and start taking advantage of the talent and experience of the creative women in my community.

    I've got lots of stitcheries scattered through the house that I've done over the years. I generally favour a "country" style with warm, rustic colours. Some of my stitcheries are still folded in the sewing box waiting to be turned into wall hangings, or cushion, or bags etc. Clearly I enjoy the handstitching more than the "construction" side of sewing. I think it's just a confidence thing. I will have an exciting change to "my creative space" next week as I'm having a new L-shaped bench installed (by my fabulous hubby, Danny) in my craft room over the weekend. Can't wait to get it all set up. It will have a dedicated spot for my sewing machine, so hopefully I'll be able to improve my sewing skills with a bit of practise.

    Stop by Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo to see some more creative spaces. (Thanks Kirsty)

     See you again soon. Love Anita. xxx