Things I'm loving - umbrellas

It seems quite appropriate today when we have had a few days of wet weather.

But there is just something about umbrellas, isn't there?

Umbrellas as art.

by Rie Nakajima

umbrellas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Umbrellas as public art installations.

umbrellas at Agueda, Portugal

umbrellas in Borough Market, London

umbrellas by Marco Pece

found on vintagegardenrose

To home decor perhaps.

from themurmeringcottage

by czekoczyna

And one by me!

Monterrosso, Cinque Terre, Italy

Things to do with tshirts - apart from wear them.

I have some tshirts to use up somehow as well as all the fabric I mentioned last week.
Most of them are khaki or grey, so not very inspiring in the colour department, but I'm sure I can find something to do with them.

Where to start?
With jewellery of course.

1. Bracelets.

These bright braided bracelets are fun.
And easy-peasy.

2. Knotted bracelets.

Would look good with some pretty coloured tshirts.

from hot polka dot

3. Necklace.
This is like the one I have made (but have no photo of)

from wholeliving.com

4. Braided necklace.
A bit more involved than the previous necklace/scarfy thing.
But has a neater end result for them that likes that sort of thing.

nautical necklaces how-to by brit + co

This version with three slightly different tshirts looks fab.

braided scarf on ohohblog

5. Headband.
That is a bit braided and a bit not (or knot!)

headband by Sugar Bee Crafts

6. Wrap vest.
Uses an extra large men's tshirt..
The end result is a bit super and you can also wear it as a scarf.

by wobisobi

7. Yoga pants.
This one needs a bit more work and measuring.
And would look really nice with a tshirt like this with a suitable design on the front.
But I'm not totally discounting it.

yoga pants from Kira's sewing projects

8. Tshirt to dress.
Now this has given me an idea - I have some hippie skirts that I thought to recycle into dresses and I could attach them to a tshirt top a bit like these.
Hmmmmm.....

unable to find original post

8. You could also use the fabric to make skirts -

from Melly Sews

9. Or hats -

by Joyfoolery

but, hey! that all looks like far too much effort!

10. Laptop case.
This I like! A lot.

from makezine

11. Dishcloths.
You cut up your tshirt into strips to make yarn and then you knit or crochet a small square with big needles (I guess)
Or you could just cut up your tshirt to use as a rag! Much easier.

by robotdinosaur on craftster

12. And then there are bags.

shopping bag by delia creates

 And the bag I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

13. Rugs.
This one actually uses a tshirt as the base - Brilliant!

by Molly Kay Stoltz

Too many choices!

Finding joy every day.

There is something to find enjoyment in every day, you just have to look.

Having good coffee nearby.

Tuna salad wrap for lunch. So much nicer than stodgy bread!

You have to use your imagination for this one - the smell of my little crafty shop The Nook Leura when I open the door.
A combination of lavender, camphor laurel, soap scents, and tea.

Getting out again and walking, this time with a very tame magpie.

Red cabbage, raw mostly. Yep.

And another bushwalk to lift my spirits (it does work!)
Blue skies, smell of eucalypts, gentle hum of cicadas.

Family skype.
(What did we do before skype?)

Sunday afternoon movies seem to be becoming a bit of a habit.

How was your week?
Did you manage to find joy in some of the small things in life?

7 fab things

Just sharing some fab things I found on the interwebs this week.

1. Cosy reading nook.

2. A Beautiful Mess blog.

3. Gorgeous textile necklace from Material Assets.

4. How to get your handmade items into a boutique.

5. Sweet art by Natalie Rhymer from the Moree Gallery.

6. The cutest chickens by The Happy Cupcake.

Found on mochimochiland.


7. Sir David Attenborough commentating on curling.

My creative space - I'm trying!

I made a pair of earrings.

and I finished a bracelet.

Whooooopie! go me!

I really enjoyed making these earrings.
They were quick and fairly easy.
I adapted a design by Carole Horn from Beadwork magazine.
Her design was for a whole necklace - it is very pretty.

I used the lime green beads instead of her pearl rounds.

I also finished the bracelet that I started last week.

I decided to use a button as a closure as I didn't have any of the slidey clasps that were used in the original.

I also like using buttons - they are a simple way to finish a beadwork bracelet and you can do them up with one hand (which is very useful when putting bracelets on).

I'm thinking of joining in with Jewelry making mojo challenge over on Humblebeads blog.
The thing that is holding me back at the moment is that the first assignment is to enter a challenge or contest.
That bit is really scarey!
Also I think i need a fair bit of mojo to do that....and since my mojo is missing it's kind of hard.

I'll think about it.

Out and about - camping at Bonnie Vale

This camping expedition had been planned for a while - to celebrate a friend's birthday.
We'd been having some extra-super-hot weather....but last weekend it rained : (

Never mind it didn't dampen our spirits.


We walked, we swam, we ate and we drank and some of us kayaked.

Some of us played volleyball....in the mud....and slipped over and broke a rib.

(That part was not much fun)

There are some old shacks in the camping area.
I'm very fond of old shacks.

I'm unable to find out much information about these shacks.
They are smack bang in the middle of the (very nice) camping area which is part of the Royal National Park.
It used to be NPWS (National Parks and Wildlife) policy to remove all shacks from the national park but it seems they have relented in recent years.
These shacks don't look like they are maintained at all and could very well just fall down one day.