In the immortal words of the poet...

...and great philosopher of our time

britney spears

"oops, I did it again"

I made another pair of wide leg pants

I'm totally makin' out with upholstery fabric these days

And although these photographs will offer little clue,

for your sensory pleasure

(or in this case mine)

these pantaloons are made from deep purple velvet.

The whole world should be made of purple velvet

if you ask me.

Go ahead, ask me.

I dare you :)

This week I'm linking here and here!

The Elements

I get all misty around this season.

After people speed up in a frenzy of Xmas preparation,

I relish the slow down.

The true holiday time.

That sacred commitment to call or visit with loved ones

and be present to take the call

in person

in a deep way

'tis the season after all.

There is this little spot in our house

that has lived with an alphabet illustration for a few years.

Well, shorty number 2 yoinked it down in a bluster.

It's right above the recycling and in a year or so

I imagine 2 phat frames

with rotating art work from the height challenged set.

Until then, it needs a little love.

And then the original wee one needed a little love too.

Mostly the 3 1/2 year old needed extra love

because she spent a lot of time running naked around a giraffe.

I wish that that was a euphemism

 or metaphor for something profound.

But no, I mean literally running naked around a giraffe

pigtails flying.

On and on and on.

Definitely something to note.

And, well, that's just the sort of behaviour I want to get behind.

It's likely that each of us would benefit from spending a portion of our day running naked

around something

or someone.

Kids are weird.

Isn't it great?

But, I digress.

Speaking of metaphor...

I love the juxtaposition of hard and soft.

I love this faker crochet rock wearing a sweater.

I love a reminder to soften all the hard bits in life,

when we can.

The thoughts,

the deeds

the driving finger.

(...isn't that what gloves are for?

the middle finger condom for the bird when you set it aflight

 at the hummer that ran over your psychic toe?)

It's not even a frightening Xmas sweater with a nose that lights!

What can I say, I even like my minerals cozy.

Thanks to kootoyoo.com for the cheat.

May your cockles by warm and loved

whether naked, or otherwise.

Twinkle Dinkle

'Tis the season of twinkle.

So I sewed a few sparkle garlands for gift wrapping.

So easy, a little punch and a little stitch.

Then sew up a few little gifty bags

And weeeee.

How the Mini-Me-Mighty Have Fallen

I live in a wet town.

It rains here in different flavours from pistachio to puce.

Yet, my inner delinquent, anarchist/ fake rebel self

for years took perverse pleasure

(and felt super bad ass)

for NOT owning an umbrella.

Yah, me so tough.

Well, it was the same with ironing.

With punk rock fervour I would flout the ironing situations of the world.

Me? A crisp collar? For shame.

In unrelated news,

I have evolved ever so slightly.

I also shacked up with a man who needed ironed shirts 3 times a year.

He did the ironing, and really it WAS only 3 times a year.

I still love punk rock and I don't wash out in the rain,

but now that I've started dressing up my ironing board...

its clear that the slippery slope is covered in a deluge.

Art Smock

As Nu gets bigger she needs more of a HazMat suit

than a bib

These could work as an art smock for Pu too

What chew talkin' about Willis?

I'm just saying.

Attitude to spare



Art Tote

Thanks to Amy for the art tote tutorial

What could be better for wee artists on the go?

Definitely an upgrade from the crayon roll.

This might even buy us a few extra bites in a restaurant!

I tried my hand at Heat and Bond

which I was told by the seller was the easiest option.

I still belong in the special class for sewing.

Alas, several degrees later,

I still cannot deduce the mystical language of instructions.

So, there are glue trails and heat bond smears around the flags. 

There are even black marker smudges that unsuccessfully try and conceal my unsightly  past crimes

(A terrible washed out photo, but you get the idea)

Next go, I will do it differently

Nonetheless, I am pretending that these have been

smeared and broken in by 3 year old budding artists, rather than I.

By tomorrow that will actually be true.

A little popcorn on the hook

I tried my hand at crocheting with a popcorn stitch.

Verrrrrrrry forgiving and fun.

A little Xmas gift for Futchie.

She mentioned grey...





It's got three big buttons so can be worn at different heights

And since she's in the Yukon, cosy is key.

Uh oh,

someone found a photo editing program with lovely basic filters!

Maybe the next one will have to be blueberry.

Off to see some Creative Spaces at Kirsty's

Etsuko Furuya meets the Peasants

A Peasant Dress

For the little Feudal Lord

I think it would be far more fun to be a Lord than a Lady

back in the day.

The back is oatmeal linen, like the sleeves.
I do love the scooters.

Pu is all for making weird faces for the camera these days.

See the anguish on her face as she sorts through
her peasants concerns?

Phew.

 Better take the scooter to the fields.

Today I'm linking to Skip to my Lou

There's This Place in Our House

Not even a place really.

More of a spot.

It's not pretty.

Nor romantic.

Not even whimsical.

It's usually filthy.

The dirtiest spot in our house by many definitions.

However,

it is also the Dream Catcher,

the evidence,

the confession of a day here in Kidtopia.

You see,

it lies beneath the little creators when they do some of their fiercest work.

They make art above the spot.

And,

the most amazing things trickle down.

Here, in the spot lie the entrails of all the day's activities.

If you were to swab it and put a sample in a Petri dish

from it might spring:

A sticker fight, a costume explosion,

and a vegetable jello tree.

You might grow

a  partially gagged up crayon

and part of the rainbow coloured on the inner walls of a stomach.

You might spot a fur ball tumbleweed laced with labradoodle and sprinkles,

(all traces of incidental cheese snacks dropped by toddlers

so lavishly devoured by dog as to leave not a trace,

microscopic or psychic)

Puzzle pieces, beet juice stained play dough,

buttons and thread

and all number of evolving bits.

It's really quite the spot.

In the past,

I confess that with an air of curmudgeon

I have swept this spot away each night when the sighs are of sleep

and the sky is mulberry.

In the day I have pruned it and plucked various choking hazards

both willy

and nilly

from the vortex of the spot.

It's only lately

that I have begun to mine the spot for the tales it tells.

It's only lately that I have begun to read the poetry on the floor.

Serial Killer Baking

A kin to the craft blog is the artful chef,
classy cookery
and eye candy edibles blog.

It is only fair to warn you,

don't get your hopes up here.

Instead,

my best effort to bring glee and sugar to the hearts and teeth of the shorties

 typically leaves
quite the gruesome crime scene.

Look at the CSI trail on this guy.

Of course, I had a few accomplices...

Look at the evidence all over her face!

The weapon of choice.

The above, nameless gingerbread person didn't stand a chance.

I mean really,

crushed to death by an excessive amount of candy sprinkles,

then smothered in icing.

The Indignity.

The Horror!

No remorse here.

Just a plea to do it again.

Sorry Ging!

Just in case you thought the other one was innocent,

this is her get-away outfit.

(OK, not really she was napping.

This was her lets make snow creatures outfit.)

Gotta run the sugar out of the original model.

Colour Me Good Times

Sweet Crayon Rolls

I'm trying to stock pile for the holiday

So full of posibility



All that untapped creativity just ready to be set free.

I command thee: Go forth and colour!

Baby it's Cold Out Here

There's a chill in the air

and I'm in cozy mode

One scarf for Nu.

One for The Sweetie

& one for Pu,

who is really proud of cutting with scissors these days

Oh Yah!



A Presto Chango Refashion

Pu goes to a little preschool and for one of their fundraising efforts they sell t-shirts.

So it started like this:

an x-large men's t-shirt.

And then with a little Clickity Click Barba-Snip

it turned into this...

Which turned into this!

I used the Warhol Pattern from MADE

Thanks Dana!

New Friends

Here's our new resident.

I'm trying out some Xmas gift ideas.

I think she's a little unsure of herself,

 but she seems really lovely.

She offered to share her cookies.

I can't always do that.

I made Pu some little leggings that match the above doll.

A little matchy match, but who doesn't love

purple and grey stripes?

Besides, Life Lesson:

 it's nice to be wearing comfy pants when you're making new friends.

Speaking of friends...

Owyn has a birthday coming up...

And because friends gotta fly,

this owl is heading to Whitehorse.

Then lastly,

a few more buckets,

these one's are the round Mayamade version,

And the above photo is meant to illustrate

that no creature has ever been so unimpressed!