Wordless Wednesday - on National Pass

Making coin purses - some free tutorials

I love these sweet little coin purses.

They are great for using up small pieces of fabric, and make great stocking stuffers, or as a package for a small gift eg a pair of earrings ; )

There are some fab free tutorials around on how to make them. People are amazingly generous sharing their know-how aren't they?

 

Here is a free tutorial from Cut Out + Keep that is really simple - it uses just 2 pieces of fabric so that the inside and outside are the same.

If you would like to move on from this one or it is too simple, then you might be inspired by Jennifer Jangles gorgeous purses. They are a little bigger than a coin purse but you could cut them down a bit.
Jennifer uses such vibrant fabrics and makes her purses really special.

I also found a tute for this cute little pouch.
It is designed for ear buds - but would work as a coin purse too - or an earrings purse or.....

Thanks to Dog Under My Desk for this one.

And I think I've just discovered a new favourite blogs : )

...and they're away!

Today was the day of dragon boat racing, right in the middle of Sydney, in Darling Harbour!

There were many teams from near and far.

There were bakers 

 and pirates

and animals

Some people got tattoos.

We were the Blackheath Ark.

We raced.

We got wet.

We got tired.

And we came 13th out of 29.

We raised $2730 for breast cancer support and the whole event raised nearly $168,000 - what a fantastic effort.
Thanks to all our friends a family who supported us and made it a fun and successful day.

Are we going back for more next year?
YOU BET!

Not following my own suggestions

Today I went to a local school fete - as a stallholder. And it was a lovely fete. The organisers had put a lot  into it.
It had a green garden theme and there were gardening workshops, and Costa from an ABC TV gardening show was there.
There was a farmer's market and other things you expect to see at a school fete - second-hand books and clothes, pre-loved toys and I'm sure much more that I didn't get to see.

 There were a few nice craft stalls, and  a cake stall and kids activities.
A great thing to blog about! yes?

No!
I managed not to take many photos - just a couple of my stall - what a blog fail!
Isn't this one of the things in my list of "what to blog about"?
See here at #11?
So I'm so sorry .....

Instead I'll show you some photos of other markets at other places, other times -

The Rocks Market in Sydney

Fiona of 4 leaf clover

At Leura Fair in years gone by -

Brian amidst the blossom with his fabulous pots

D and M pottery

Lindy Longhurst - serpent mandalas

What was my excuse today?
I was busy.
I was by myself.
I forgot....
So don't do what I do - do what I say!
And I promise that next time I'll take lots of photos.

unknown artist

Friday faves

I love digging through my faves on Fridays.
Revisiting some old faves, making friends with some new ones, getting lost in shops...

Here is a new one that I found this morning.
This shop has a lot of bike decorated glasses and tshirts, but I just love this crafty one - 

crafty pint glasses by vital

This bag may be newly noticed by me but the shop and maker are not!
OK this is made by my friend K, but she seriously makes the best messenger bags around.
I usually go for the bright fabrics but I love the 50's feel of this fabric - reminds me of some curtains from my childhood I think.

small messenger bag by needlevsthread

I love pottery! Did you know that I was a potter before I was a jewellery designer?
And I guess it's still in my blood but these days I leave it the expert practitioners.
This ticks a couple of boxes - it's a jewellery display pot - how useful is that?

jewellery bowl by CaractacusPots

And here's another piece that ticks a couple of boxes.
I have a soft spot for waterecolours (I also tried that!) and of course I'm a cat person.
Plus this is a french, revolutionary puss - aw!

Les Mews by amberalexander

It's sort-of-summer, time to reassess ones wardrobe - maybe I'm in the market for a new skirt, but it's so hard to decide which one!
What do you think of this one - it's denim (love), got some brightness (love) and it's wrap around (too comfy) - yep, that ticks a few boxes too!

wrap around skirt by boutique mia

Phew! All that ticking boxes has me worn out!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Bandannas for boating - my creative space

Maybe not so creative but it involves scissors, measuring and cutting!

And 10 metres of fabric!

Making bandannas for my dragon boat race team for the Dragons Abreast event on Sunday at Darling Harbour in Sydney.
Here are the 22 triangles I cut - they are a bit rough and ready - but should do the trick.

Dragons Abreast raises funds to support those affected by breast cancer.

If you are in Sydney come along and cheer us on - there will be races going on all day from 8.30 to about 3pm I think.

On other matters I am going to a local school fete at Springwood on Saturday. They are calling it Festival of the Green and it's a huge celebration of growing and gardens - Costa from the TV is going to be there and they are having gardening workshops and all sorts of things.

So I thought these sweet flower bracelets from a pattern designed by Stephanie Eddy would be appropriate.

I'm joining in with My Creative Space hosted by kootoyoo over on Village Voices - pop along and have a look why don't you!

Faces on the street in India - Wordless Wednesday