So… at the study skills seminar they suggested a chalk wall. Neither The Big Girl nor I were that excited about the prospect of chalk dust all over her bedroom so we came up with this instead.

The frames are the super cheap (like $9.99) ones from IKEA. We just opened them up and flipped the generic grey IKEA paper over & then added those great brass frame hangers to the back of the board.

She can easily remove the boards and update them once the boards are full (& finished with) we are photographing each board. The “notes” can then be saved onto the pc & iPad for easy reference. As it is working so well I think we will fill the entire wall with the whiteboard frames.

Hardly even creative and certainly not a craft BUT mighty useful.  Do you think you might hack yourself a set?

Just perfect for the present cupboard or school fairs don’t you think? I think these babies have broad appeal…not just for those of us who love the handmade aesthetic! This makes them a fabulous project if you need to make in quantity.

The glasses were picked up at the op shop for 50cents each and a roll of washi tape goes a long way. Hooray for that I say. I think these would be gorgeous as centre pieces for a wedding.

You don’t need a tutorial for this – it’s dead easy. Wrap & stick!

Pip linked us up with a tute for washi tape storage jars & I got all excited about washi tape tea light holders.

Other ambient light ideas…
crochet lace lanterns
wrapped tea lights

It’s totally faker crochet! If you are a purist…power to you. Hook yourself some little caps for soap.

I confess I find the gifting of handmade items something of a challenge. It’s one thing to give something you’ve painstakingly hooked, or stitched, or knitted, or sewn to someone else who makes things & appreciates them. It’s quite another to gift the same items to folk who’ve no idea of the time involved. Faker or not – it’s all the same to them. So…at this time of year when you’re crafting to give I heartily recommend the faker route.  

I got lucky at the oppy a couple of weeks ago & picked up a set of 6 crochet coasters which were a bit stained & yick. I slung them in the washing machine & stared at them for a while & wondered if a soap cosy might be just the ticket? Loofah & soap in one…yep! Time to have a crack folks.

Five minutes flat per soap…maybe less.

We saw a lovely knitted shrug in Sunspun. Of course, I’m more a fan o’ the hook & decided I’d have a crack at my own.

I’ve been doing a bit of sampling with the hook but before I wasted time on the crochet version I refashioned from an Op Shopped/thrifted Pashmina type thing to make sure I had the measurements right.

Very much in the same vein as the slashed number.

I had planned to use the circles as a neck treatment but it seemed a bit too much.

& of course it can still be worn as intended.

There’s a bit of a back story to this one.

My bossy mate Tracey came home from a client meeting & told me I needed to make her a scarf with sleeve holes cut in it. Then she mentioned she’d seen some fabulous vests in Cactus Jam that she also wanted. Should just mention here that she’s the recipient of the grey granny shrug too.

Then I saw this at Leonie’s & thought it was the perfect two for one. I decided to trial it with the last piece of blanket from the slippers. This rectangle was it…I didn’t cut it at all. I just waved the tape measure around my bust & from my shoulder to my hip … near enough. Positioned the arm holes by eye (lucky that worked out OK).

The slashed vest was supposed to be a 1 hour gig & truthfully the slashing took fully five minutes but I could hardly put a rectangle of blanket up with a few cuts in it & say I made it. The idea behind the slashing was to give the blanket a bit of fluidity.

I threaded the machine with red & the bobbin with white & just roughly rectangled the slashes. I didn’t finish in under an hour … it was more like two but that did include numerous trips to the bathroom mirror to check & check & check that I hadn’t completely lost the plot.

I’m quite chuffed with it, so totally unable to decide if it is in fact fabulous or complete cheater craft. Either way it was fun.

PS: The doily top is merino & was a gift from Icebreaker (?) isn’t it gorgeous?

PPS: Feeling a bit weird about loading a post with pics of self. More here if you want to see the red.