The story behind the still life: winner

Yes, heavy enclosed shoes and protective eye wear needs to be worn at all times!

Ok, so the still life really didn’t give a lot away.

The flowers and bottle of ‘joker’ wine and an apple for the teacher were all waiting for me when I arrived home from my first day of work.

The story is…. I have a part-time sessional lecturing job at the Australian Catholic University.

This session I will be teaching first year students a subject called “Designing with Textiles”. So far, it is really a glorified sewing class, but will move more into the areas of design as the weeks progress.

Every student who wants to be a TAS (technology and applied science) teacher in the high school system has to cover textiles, so I have mostly non- textiles students in my classes (or labs as they are known). Yes, woodwork and metalwork boys as well as the food tech students.

It’s pretty scary as I am not a trained teacher and I haven’t worked for someone else for about 13 years….. and as you can see from the photos from the lab, it’s super dangerous!*

So far it has been really enjoyable and exhausting.

So, because all the readers who commented got part of it right, but no-one picked it, (I know it was quite obscure) I will be sending you all a little harrysdesk love.

Thanks for commenting, or thinking if you didn’t get to commenting.

Dyeing and printing is even more dangerous.... mask and gloves get added to the apparel.

* I don’t think the job is dangerous at all. I think the stay at home mothering was much more hazardous! Let’s hope OH&S doesn’t come and access our homes.

My Still Life

Welcome home still life.

Time for a giveaway. Haven’t had one in a while.

Yesterday when I arrived home I was greeted by this still life on my kitchen table…… ok, it didn’t look exactly like this but after a little artistic adjusting….it looked like this. I love a still life.

For a chance to win a harrysdesk surprise prize pack you need to answer this question by commenting below.

Why were these things waiting for me when I got home?

The most accurate answer….or the most creative answer….. will win the pack.

You have a week to come up with your answer. That’s 9:30 pm on the 1st of March 2012.

What’s in the pack?

It’s a surprise!

Don’t miss out….. 2

….and for the non readers….

...or something like me.

Ends today at 8:00pm. Details here.

…and the Well Spotted T-shirt winner is…..

Congratulations ………………

You are the winner of this…. Laura.

Thanks everyone who entered.

Not the boy.....but the Well Spotted Shirt.

Don’t miss the The Little Pink Owl give-away finishing this Saturday.

Don’t miss out…….

In case you just look at the pictures and don’t read the text……

Enter now. Comment here!  Ends lunchtime today.

Bliss Bomb: The Little Pink Owl. ( Read carefully…… give-away time)

The Little Pink Owl

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hd: Tell us a little about yourself….

lk: My name is Lynne Keasey and I am 39. I am married with a wonderful husband and have 4 amazing children ranging in ages from 6-20 years of age. I live in Mailtand, NSW. I have always loved being creative and enjoy making things for people and seeing there smiling faces when they see them. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading (when I get a chance), watching movies with my husband and generally just enjoying life.

Asian Dolly by The Little Pink Owl.

Dolly by The Little Pink Owl.

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hd: Sounds idyllic…..What did you think you would be doing when you were in school? 

lk: I had many things I thought I would like to do when I was at school. A kindergarten teacher, a hairdresser, a dancer, a truck driver (I know that sounds strange but I thought a pink truck would be cool- it only lasted a little while that one.) and a MUM.

hd: Well, it looks like you are doing some of that, so how did you get  to this creative point in your life?

lk: I have always loved creating things- I started with scrap booking and then my husband bought me a sewing machine a year ago and I started tinkering around with it and loved it. I found that when I made things people loved them and so I thought maybe it might be something I should go into. My husband and I have a cleaning business as a primary source of income but craft has always been my passion. Once people started showing interest in my creations I thought it would be great to follow that and see where it could take me. It has been a fun journey so far and it is only growing more and more each day.

My husband has been a great support just as my children have which I think is amazing that they allow me to follow my dreams and have it bring me such happiness.

Zebra Softie by The Little Pink Owl.

Panda by The Little Pink Owl.

 ……………………………………………..hd: Tell us a bit about what you create….

lk: I have many things that I make currently. I make animal softies and dolls that are from the “Dolls and Daydreams” patterns. I make owl softies in different sizes and patterns that we came up with. I do hair accessories, scrabble tile necklaces and bottlecap pendants, button bracelets, fabric covered earrings, beanies and scarves for winter.

Fox Softie by The Little Pink Owl.

Meercat by The Little Pink Owl.

 ……………………………………………….hd: And such a gorgeous range of things. I love that. Have you always loved making things? 

lk: I have always enjoyed making things. My mother is very creative and clever with sewing and things and I guess I have followed her somewhat. I love having a go at many different things and trying to learn new crafts all the time. Essentially I have only being sewing for the last year and I love it. I remembered how to thread the machine from high school when I did Textiles and design in year 10. My Mum taught me to knit when I was about 16years old and I love to do it as it relaxes me.

I started back to craft one day when cleaning out my daughters closet and found a little pair of shorts and thought I could make her a bag out of them and recycle them. Then I made a bag out of them and decided maybe I could make more and sell them and it just went from there. I never did follow through with the bags yet as I ended up making other things but that is where it started I guess.

Scrabble Tile Necklaces by The Little Pink Owl.

Rudolf the Reindeer necklace by The Little Pink Owl.

Little Black Bird Necklace by The Little Pink Owl.

hd: You heard it here people, upcycling can do great things for your creativity. What did that first sale feel like?

lk: My first sale was so exciting it was to someone who I have admired on facebook for a long time and she happened to be at my first markets and bought the first item.  I have since built a great relationship with her and she is very supportive of me and what I do and she now sells my toys on her website, Sweet Little Birdy. I also love when people walk past my stall and smile and get such enjoyment from what I make, it brings me such joy.

My Favourite! Lamb by The Little Pink Owl.

hd: It sounds like it has been a whirlwind success. What would you like to offer the  ’Friends of harrysdesk’? 

lk: I would like to offer 2 deals for your readers.

If your readers go to my facebook page and like it and say they came from “Harry’s desk” and write the animal softie that they like. I will at the end of the time frame draw their name out and whoever is picked will get that softie free and posted to them free of charge. They must say they are from you though as it is only for your readers this offer. This chance to win will finish on the 10th of December, 2011 at 8:00pm EST.

* Small Print: If you are an overseas reader you are welcome to join in but the additional postage will need to be paid by the winner! 

hd: Yes you read right. You could win a softie from The Little Pink Owl. Awesome….. and your offering somethings else? 

 Yes, I will offer a $5 discount on any animal softie that they like, so instead of it costing them $35 they will only pay $30 plus the postage (from $6:60 ) This is only on the animal softies that are in the folder on my facebook page named animal softies. (It will not include the reindeer or skeleton)

hd: Thanks so much Lynne.

You can also visit Lynne’s MadeIt Store (if you are not on facebook)….. and come back here and leave a comment saying that you have done this.

Bliss Bomb: Well Spotted (Yes, he’s at it again….. a give-away)

Well Spotted

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hd: So, Tony, why work for yourself?

tc: Good question, it’s certainly not easy!

When I was small, my father’s job was a complete mystery to me. Now that I have a small person, I’d like him to know what it is that I do. He sees me printing t-shirts, he knows people in the shops that I sell to & he is well acquainted with the post office in Summer Hill where we queue up to send out my orders! What I do is tangible to him & he often comes up with t-shirt ideas for me which is a nice added way to engage with my son…

hd: Great reasons. Good chance he’s a little entrepreneur  in the making! So, in the last year, what exciting things have been happening at Well Spotted?

tc: Since last year Well Spotted has re-introduced adult t-shirts into the mix. Not too many because I prefer to see my prints making kids funnier!

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hd: Do you have any new ‘funnys’ for us?
tc: This year I have tried to encourage my positive side and  come up with ‘Best. Day. Ever!’ & ‘Happy Go Lucky’ & ‘Sunshine & Lollipops & Rainbows & Everything’. Just try being grumpy when you’re wearing one of those!

Yes.... you could be the lucky winner of one of these Best. Day. Ever. t-shirts. See below for details.

hd: If we want to stay in touch with what Well Spotted is up to through out the year, how is the best way to do that?
tc: I sometimes engage with social media here - https://www.facebook.com/well.spotted but when it’s really important (like a sale) I will send a message to my mailing list which you can join by clicking ‘keep me posted’ here - http://www.wellspotted.com.au/

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happy go lucky. Available in Blue and Aqua.

Shineshine...etc available in Pink, Orange and Yellow.

hd: Last year, rather than offer a purchasing deal on your shirt…. which are really well priced anyway…..you offered a give-away. Thank for that. What would you like to surprise harrysdesk readers with this year?
tc: Since I’ve been accentuating the positive this year I’ll give one lucky reader a ‘Best. Day. Ever!’ t-shirt. They come in coal or brown & are available from kids size 3-6m to 14y.

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Thanks Tony!! I feel very posititve about that already.

Ok, so here is how it will work….

Leave a comment below telling us of one of your Best. Day(s). Ever. and you have the possibility of being spotted in the newest Well Spotted t-shirt.

Please only enter once…..

Prize drawn randomly ….lunchtime (sometime after 12 and before 3pm) on December the 6th 2011.

‘War and Peace’ Upcycled bookends……and the winner of the give away announced!

Image from Craft.... 'War and Peace' bookends.

Congratulations Bec  you are the winner of the book week mini journal give away! I will contact you soon to ask what colour you would like.

Thanks everyone for your recommendations. I am able to search these out at the library now…..I’m a bit excited about the prospect of recommended books.

ht: ohdeedoh

Folded book Tutorial

A3 size paper.... (A4 works too but gives you a very small book)

Fold paper in half lengthways....

Open the fold back out.

Fold paper in half the other way....

Fold it in half again the same way...ie last 2 folds parallel to each other.

Open it all back out flat again. Your page will be divided into 8 even rectangles.

Fold the paper in half again....(the long side halved by the fold).

Cut along the crease line from folded side to where the creases meet.

Open the page out again then fold it in half lengthways again until you get this shape.

Push the ends together until the paper forms a + shape.... then fold the paper onto itself to form the book.

After you have done that... lay the book out flat again. The page sequence is shown in the picture.

Write and Illustrate your book ...closed...

....or open. 5 year old looking back at a finished book to check her mermaid drawing.

This one is so easy you could do it today ….I love craft activities like that!

P.S. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. The light in our lougeroom is a shocker.

Book Week Parade

8, 5 and 11 year old dressed for the school book parade last Friday.

I know I am a bit of a freak when it comes to this sort of thing….. but I love book week parade. To make it a little less stressful … and thriftier …only one child gets a costume made each year. The others scrounge from what we have or call friends and borrow bits and pieces.

5 year old got in on the act (unnecessarily dressed up) as Felicity Wishes… from the Friendship and Fairyschool by Emma Thomson. I made this costume for 11 year old for her kindergarten book parade six years ago. The crown was always a little odd!

8 year olds went as EJ12 from ‘EJ12 Girl Hero Pyramid Puzzle’ by Susannah McFarlane. She has just got to the ‘Colour Fairy books are not cool’ stage….YAY!!!… EJ12 is like a female Zac Powers. She pulled this costume together with things from her sisters (and her) wardrobe and phoning an adventuring adult she knew for the bits she was missing. Thanks Heidi for the binoculars, shoes and rope.

 11 year old was the one to have  her costume made this year. She is Hatshetsup from the Ramose series of books by Carole Wilkinson. The white dress was in our dress-up box and the other bits I made. We were enlightened about egyptian makeup here. She was delighted to be unrecognisable by some of her school mates. A lot of people thought she was Cleopatra….but she was prepared for this! Hatshesup was the first female Pharaoh of Egypt. She stole the throne from her nephew. Male Pharaohs didn’t like the idea of female ones so spent the years after her reign trying to remove any historical trace of her….. just a quick history lesson for the uninitiated (me included before I started making the costume). I even went fabric and bits buying with a totally different Pharaoh as my inspiration. Oh, the shame of it!!

As it turned out, 12 year old had a multicultural day at school on Friday as well! She went as an English punk. Sorry about the dreadful photo…. but I couldn’t leave her out.

Well book parade over for another year. Sniff. Still time to add your comments to the book week giveaway. I will announce the winner soon. Don’t miss out!