The end of August already? Dang, that arrived quickly! So what am I up to?
Reading (well, flicking through)...
Homemade - the Handmade Help recipe book.
Save by Shannon Lush and Jennifer Flemming.
The Australian Government's Style Manual for authors, editors and printers - just a little bedtime reading.
Obsessing over... all-things tea-related. Well, except for the tea itself! I flirt with tea occasionally but coffee's my One True Love. But the idea and the aesthetic of tea-drinking appeals. The romance, the ritual, the leisurely pace... the fine-bone china... the cucumber sandwiches...
So in between hurried gulps of strong black coffee I've been creating little tea 'vignettes' to place around the house. Sick of hiding my lovely cups in a cupboard, I emptied out a fabulously grungy drawer (from our thrifted 'TV stand'), turned it sideways and made a little display cabinet:
Wearing... brooches. Brooches brooches brooches. Since I last posted about brooches, my collection has more than doubled! A couple of great thrift finds, a few rediscoveries (it pays to clean out the bedroom drawers now and then), a few made-by-me additions, and best of all some very sweet gifts from fellow bloggers.
A big shout out to:
Kylie of 3sheets for her awesome artsy stitched paper and felt brooch (first column, second last);
Mim of Mim Art Life for her beautiful round dry-felted brooch (top of second column). Not the original one she gave me - that's a sad tale for another time :-( - but just perfect.
Claire of Bear Among Bees for her super-cute bunny rabbit brooch (third column, second-last) and an AMAZING frog brooch made from an upcycled battery and wires. I just noticed he didn't make it into the picture... he was getting played-with at the time!
Making... Brooches - dry-felted, glued, embroidered, just fiddling around. Embroidering stuff here and there, usually badly. Sewing very very badly and thinking about a lesson or two. Refashioning nothing. Oh, and felting a hedgehog:
It's time to revisit my own Craftstipation post and get a grip I think.
What are you up to? Come and join Jen's meme and let us all know.
Hi Gina! You are very gifted... reading your blog gave me an idea it is that easy to recycle but looking at my own things, I can not decide on what to do with them, really.... but I'll try doing something and create something new out of my old stuff,, thank you for inspiring me.
ReplyDeleteI am a big tea fan, but truly most of it IS about the ritual. When pregnant I cannot stand to drink tea (it tasted different!) for pretty much the whole 9 months. I sooo missed the ritual. Love your framed tea prints. Ingenious.
ReplyDeleteAs for Hedgie- super cute.
So cute little hedgehog! keep an eye out for the postie, a little something heading your way :)
ReplyDeleteSelina xx
That hedgehog is adorable!
ReplyDeleteHEDGEHOG! Super cute :) And your tea frames are beautiful too.
ReplyDeleteHey, via Taccolina, I just found these amazing seam finish tutorials by Hoppo Bumpo - http://hoppobumpo.blogspot.com/search/label/Seams - and only 6 months after the fact! Lots of details that are rarely explained but make a big difference to finished products. I am trying out some new (to me) things tonight on D's long-awaited pants!
Oh my, that hedgehog is so adorable! What a fabulous job - who needs sewing when you can do that?! Thanks for the lovely words, Gina :)
ReplyDeleteKylie x
The fabric in embroidery hoops is a lovely idea. It's a great way to display a pretty fabric - I might steal the idea for some embroidered tablecloths I bought. They often have tea stains or moth holes in places, but the embroidered bit is too nice to discard.
ReplyDeleteClever you turning the drawer into a display cabinet. What a brilliant idea, it looks great too! I display my teapots in little groups too. Im a big herbal tea fan but you will never take me away from my coffee.
ReplyDeleteWho says you cant drink coffee in fine bone china with pretty flowers on it anyway!
PS Thank you so much for the support in my blue mood this morning. You are a real ray of sunshine
i am a big tea fan, so i love the tea cup display. it looks great. and your hedgehog - so very fab. you will have to tell me more about how you made him - my crafting adhd has kicked in and i want to give it a try...
ReplyDeleteDOH! I missed just a minute AGAIN. grrr.
ReplyDeleteI love the hedgehog! How adorable! And I really love your framed teapot images. They look fantastic!
M*
oooh, tea related stuff looks great! I've just been thinking, why not drink coffee out of tea cups? Or is that some kind of cardinal coffee drinking sin? If it is, you can always invite me over to drink out of/make use of your tea related treasures :) mel xx
ReplyDeleteThat hedgehog is so cute! Will you give it a hug for me? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love tea. I truly do. I'm a tea drinker. I used to be a coffee drinker, but unfortunately my stomach decided to not want coffee anymore. I still miss it sometimes, so if you think you catch me one day sniffing someone else's cup of coffee, than you probably are right.. *blush* But I love tea also, so that makes up for a it a bit. I think those teapot prints are really nice by the way. I'd hang them somewhere around the kitchen or diningroom I think. On the other hand, I guess they'd look pretty everywhere.
I loved this peek into your world Gina. The TV cabinet/tea stand looks awesome and obsessing over tea is perfectly acceptable. I dread the thought of a world without tea... I would be a chain-smoker!! And I must admit to a giggle at your light bedtime reading!
ReplyDeletei love the drawer as a cabinet :) and hedge hog <3 x
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you on the 'lull' only mine is of the blogging variety :)
ReplyDeleteCan I just say how in lurve I am with your brialliant tea display?? And those screenprinted images take my breath away. You've made me want to go and make a cuppa. Love them all!! (and the little hedgehog bloke)
LOVE the teatowel artwork! I collect teapots, weird because usually I'm running around drinking teabag tea - rather than taking the time to brew lovely leaf and enjoy! When I worked in London, my friend and I went around to all the places that served tea - we were appalled at how many of them served you this wonderful array for finger sandwiches etc and a soppy great big PG Tip tea bag dumped into a fine bone china teapot!
ReplyDelete