How Pinteresting is….. harrysdesk?

Angels from the Christmas collection. Upcycled from men’s neckties.

As no-one was forthcoming with another Pinteresting idea, I decided to make a board of the items available via my etsy shop this Christmas.

If you have been following along, you will know it has been a very slow year for harrysdesk. Although all the girls are now in school, I have missed my studio greatly. Unfortunately, I haven’t designed a decoration for Christmas this year, but still have some of the past years designs available.

I have a few more items to upload over the coming weeks, so pop back, if you like, and see whats new. I hope to add more owls, hair-ties and t-shirts…… so watch this space.

Now it’s your turn!

What should my next Pinteresting idea be?

You can choose by commenting below.

It can be as quirky or conservative as you like!

 

Monster/Fort Kit mash-up.

Yes, the monsters are back!

Lately…. I mixed together two of my favourite creative gifts into a monster/fort mash-up.

Previously,I have made fort kits  for gifts. I got the idea from saltwater kids, who got it at Bloom.

The contents of the monster pillow.

…and more recently I have been making monsters. You can see a tutorial here if you would like to make your own.

For this particularly creative  9 year old boy, I joined them together.

I’m particularly loving the eyes!

The monster fort mash! ….and a cheeky foot.

Would the 9 year old boys in your life like these?

 

….. as promised. More photos.

The … almost…. finished work.

I say almost, because she is working a little more on the top image tonight.

….close-up…

floor detail.

….bat tree…

…..fawn tree….

‘Cottonwood’ by 14 year old. Pen on vintage pianola paper roll.

Inspire Me : Guy Laramee

Image and artwork by Guy Laramee.

This guy Guy is amazing!

Sculptured Landscapes made from old books.

A beautiful upcycle.

You can see more here.

Commission for Winton

Winton’s bag.

I haven’t shown you anything I have made in a while.

This neat little tie bag was made using all those ‘novelty’ ties most men who grew up in the 80’s have in their cupboards.

My little friend Winton helped me select the ties to make his ‘go everywhere’ bag. As you can see he chose cyclists, lions, sun and moons, dogs, hot air balloons….. Lots of inspiration for any 8 year old boy.

He told me about his love of photography, so I lined the bag with velvet to protect the lenses and gave it a little extra padding for general protection. Unfortunately the bag was delivered before I realised I only had one good shot!

I’m told he is rarely seen without his bag.

 

Silk Tie Dyed Eggs…. a tutorial

Image and idea from Our Best Bites.

I’m so going to try this this easter!!

Who wants to join me?

Commission for Deb and Tim

Before Christmas, the house move and the best holiday we have had as a family yet, I made my first ever unisex nappy bag. It was quite a fun process, so I thought I would share some of it.

It all began with an email out of the blue from all the way over in WA…. Deb wanted a bag that both her and her husband were happy to carry. She liked the Phoenix Files Bags shape and colour palette (although wanted to see some other ideas for colour), but wanted to make sure it was still ‘male enough’ for her Tim.

Blue/ grey Combo

Black/Avocado combo.

Red/Black/White/Grey Combo.

Tan/Brown Combo.

School Tie combo.

I emailed her a number of tie combinations. They settled on the black and avocado greens combination. To make sure it wasn’t t too feminine we stayed away from florals, paisleys and shiny ties. After we decided on the colour-way Deb cleared out her husbands wardrobe and asked if it were possible to upcycle one of his shirts for the lining.

The shirt was a King Gee style one made for a church men’s weekend away. The shirt had special memories for Tim but wasn’t something he wore. It didn’t yield quite enough fabric for the lining alone….so I added some ikea fabric from my stash.

Here’s what we ended up with.

Finished Nappy Bag with Change Mat.

Bag back....

...change mat.

Deb also wanted lots and lots of pockets.

Pockets for wipes, wallet, diary and notebooks, bottles and creams and of course nappies.

She also requested a special hook for her keys so that she wasn’t constantly searching for her keys at the bottom of the bag.

Inside looked like this.

Lots and lots of pockets. Open and zippered.

Button on key holder.

One of the more obviously telling details of the nappy bag are the side bottle pockets. I enjoyed getting my head around shaping these without compromising the given shape of the tie too much.

The strap is adjustable so as to be able to lengthen it for going over the handles of a pram or stroller and then shorten it again for carrying on the shoulder. I used a reclaimed computer-bag shoulder pad for extra comfort.

Right bottle pocket ...

Left bottle pocket.

Shoulder pad.

After I posted the bag off I received this lovely email from Deb’s husband Tim.

Hi Ally,

This is Tim (Deb’s husband) here.

Just wanted to say a massive thankyou for your superb work with our new ‘man-friendly’ nappy bag! It’s sooooo cool🙂

The incorporation of my King Gee shirt is really, really nice as that was the camp uniform for a men’s retreat that I organised while I was working for church (it was a huge hit and really had a tangible impact on the friendships between the guys). So, needless to say, I am stoked at that memory being interwoven with the practicalities of caring for my precious girls!

Tim.

I really enjoyed making this one.

Anyone else need a nappy bag?

Sing Choirs of Angels!

Angels... harrysdesk decoration 2011

As in past years I have used my favourite medium , men’s neckties, to make a decoration for the coming Christmas season.

This year was no exception.

I love how often the angelic crowd are mentioned in the biblical Christmas story, and so they have become, for our family one of the big symbols we associate with Christmas.

Every year we give the girls an angel each to hang on the tree, or sit on the mantle piece. It’s a reminder to them that God is much bigger than they can imagine, that there are things in this life they don’t yet understand and that we are all called to be messengers of the good news…… just like the angels were on the first Christmas.

Siver and Sky Blue..... no two the same.

My great friend Cathy McKay has written the poem this year, and I am so thankful to her for that.

Each angel comes with a printed poem for you to hang or use in your advent activities.

All for $12

....made from reclaimed neckties, buttons and ribbon.

Time weary waiting

On the long silent God to speak

Angel voices split cold, black silence

Saturating the void with glory

.

The dust-bound tremble, breaking under glory’s weight.

.

Fear flees with a word

God has left the glory of the highest

Slipping to the cold, dark earth

In the cold, black silence

Speaking, being, bringing peace.

.

Previously I have made stars and trees.

The angels, stars and trees can now be purchased via

• my etsy store,
• Recycled Market.
• …..or contact me directly.

harrysdesk now available at the Recycled Market

 

harrysdesk is now available through a new Australian born marketplace Recycled Market.

The Recycled Market is a brand new site springing up from Melbourne by the lovely Erica Louise and a friend.

And, yes, you have heard that name before…. Erica was one of my owl tutorial testers last year!

You can receive updates via facebook here.

Some very clever ideas here for Christmas.

 

harrysdesk now available a Little Big Tween

New to King Street Newtown.

You can now get harrysdesk brooches and hair accessories from LBT King Street Newtown.

If you have children size 6 to 14 this shop is well worth a look. Great appropriately styled clothes for this age group.

Due to the one off nature of harrysdesk products you will need to pop into the store to see them…. 541 (south) King Street, Newtown walking towards St Peter’s Station….. yes! the groovy end of King Street.

For everything else, or if you are a non-local,  you can visit the website.

Inside Little Big Tween.