tiny happy

action pack and crackers

Action Pack is an online magazine and there's a new edition out today. It's full of amazing hands-on stuff for kids to do and make. And for bigger kids too for that matter. Also, you won't find any ads, just projects like making watercolour paints from the sea and fashioning a fleet of boats with cork sailors.

I contributed to this edition which is based around the theme of WATER. My project is making water crackers. These are very doable for kids and of course, everyone likes to eat them. Also they mean that you almost always have the ingredients to make something to eat: all you need is flour, oil and water. Handy.

Action Pack is put together by the ever-inspiring Kathreen Ricketson (of Whip Up fame) who homeschools her own kids and is currently on a year-long road trip adventure as part of that schooling. She has some free projects offered up here.

Kathreen has kindly offered two copies of Action Pack up for a giveaway, so if you'd like to be in to win, just leave a comment and I'll draw a winner in a couple of days.

from the kitchen

A few things happening in the kitchen these days:

- I've rediscovered sprouts. In my early 20s, I used to sprout a lot of beans and seeds for salads and sandwiches, then I got out of the habit. A dear friend always keeps mung bean sprouts in her fridge for Keira to eat when we visit so i finally got organised with my own sprout jar. It's just a preserving jar with a special mesh lid I bought from here (you could easily make your own) and have been sprouting mung beans. Alfalfa is next on the list.

- Arlo is off on a school camp and he needed to pack his own set of plates and cutlery. I remembered a project from my childhood (I'm sure I made dozens of these for siblings and cousins to use when camping and tramping, once upon a time.) You take one tea-towel, sew up the sides, add a casing then thread through some cord. The bag can double as a teatowel, if need be. I added a plastic toggle too. And just happened to have a sailing ship tea-towel in the cupboard, hooray!

- This is my new favourite kitchen thing- a woodland-animal biscuit tin, discovered in an opshop. At first I thought I'd use it to keep cards, etc in but then I realised it would be much better for delicious things (such as these cookies, requested by A to take to said school camp to share with his class.) Double happiness.

 

one sunday

A few things from today...

- early morning hillside at a campground far away from the city

- midday by the river, watching kids swim and play

- a few new additions to my etsy shop, including these handmade hairclips

- a boxful of postcards from the publisher arrived. I can start sending these out to my favourite bookstores around the place, now.

Hope your Sunday was a good one, too.

summer yellow

The everlasting (straw) flowers in the garden are still going strong, and they reminded me of an old linen apron in the cupboard which featured a bunch of Tasmanian wildflowers, including my beloved straws.

It was pretty old and I never used it, so it's become a summery cushion to pair up with some outdoor blankets, etc. Good for reclining upon with a sketchbook. Not that there's too much time for that of late.

Speaking of everlasting summers, did you see this amazing clip of Ocean Ramsey, the Hawaiian marine biologist riding a Great White shark? She works to change perceptions about sharks and other marine life. Keira is very inspired as she has been reading a lot about shark finning and marine conservation of late- she wrote a letter to Parliament which you can see on her blog, and even got a reply recently.

deep blue

Inspired by the deep blue of the morning glory flowers in our garden (i know they're a noxious weed, but isn't that blue/purple brilliant?) I made these earrings. Okay, so I didn't really make them, just found the silver pieces second-hand and thought they would make a good frame for a bit of stitching. Or weaving, primary-school style. I started with quite a complicated multicolour and cross-stitch plan, but eventually went for simple running stitches instead. I don't wear earrings very often (too lazy to find a matching pair in my jewellery box) but this year I'd like to try and make some new ones.

I hope you had a good weekend. It was beautifully warm here, with lots of time for reading, putting things in order, coffee with friends, and generally pottering around. The best kind of weekend.

one week in summer

It was a warm week. The hydrangeas started to brown. Just a little bit, but still. And I've been reading this book- The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss, which is wonderful.

paper heart

Happy St. Valentine's Day, friends. I made a wildflower installation for you.

I made my origami heart (to write my valentine's message inside) using these instructions that I found via A.C. and some Japanese paper.

And something romantic: the ending to a very sweet film: Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. I haven't seen this film in a long time, but it was my favourite for many years.

X O X

small makes

I was feeling sorry for my shop, which I've pretty much abandoned over the past year, so I stocked it up with some new things.

Small makes: lavender sachets with coloured prints, bird and wildflower pins, eye masks and french press cosies. Also some more baby shoes (after taking a few months hiatus from sewing them) and these drawstring bags made from antique silks that I had to buy when I was in the strange and wonderful Japanese shop down the road. They sell kimono robes and obi belts, and also remnants from old kimono. That's how I got my hands on those small pieces of silk in stripes and geometric patterns.

socialites

I'm not a socialite (might even be an anti-socialite) but I do love this song by the Dirty Projectors (it sounded especially great live last week!), and this sewing pattern, put together by Anna-Maria Horner. 

I've made this pattern once before- back in 2009, even. I think I like it made up in this flowy fabric better- it's great for summer and the big side pockets are good. The fabric is a silky cotton with arrows and I wish I had made better use of this feature when cutting out the neckline pieces- I didn't think about it but it would have been good to place them at a contrasting angle.

I made a simple tie from the leftover fabric and a thread loop on the side to hold it in place. Fingers crossed this summery weather lasts a little longer...

Wishing you a happy weekend, dear reader.

piglets

Have you met our new pets? We have two new guinea pigs- their names are Gizmo Joe (Keira's) and Gary Zac (Arlo's.) Much fun was had in the naming (you can probably tell.) 

They are soft and silky and make a lot of noise (a high-pitched 'wheek!) when we pick them up. But I think they're slowly getting used to us.

Tom built them a big pen/enclosure type of thing and we transfer them there from the hutch when we are around to keep an eye on them. They're slowly but surely mowing the lawn for us, square by square.