"The Craft Group" plus...

This Christmas I have been doing some decorating using recycled books , so to continue the theme, here is a great Christmas tree made from an old magazine. You may have seen it before but it's good to have a step by step 'how to' for yourself or the kids! I snapped Bronwyn making one so that we could share with you a full visual tutorial. Find a magazine that has a glued spine (not staples). "Perfect bound" is the proper name for this (because I just asked my magazine publishing husband!) Rip the covers off and fold the first top right hand corner down like this... Fold the diagonal edge to meet up with the spine of the magazine. You have to really score the folded edge well with your fingernail. Now make a straight fold along the pointy bit by folding a line along the bottom of the magazine. Open the page and fold the point under. Like this... Or, you can fold it under before opening the page. W...

One of my favourite days of the year is The Craft Group's Christmas Brunch. This was my "Christmas Tree" table centre piece this year. A gorgeous hydrangea in full bloom. It was a gift from a lovely relative from New Zealand who came to stay at our house during their Aussie holiday. I decorated everything to match it. Pink and silver. Everyone brings a little plate of something yummy to share  and we always end up with a lovely feast! The morning was full of lovely food, lovely people, we sum up our years ups and downs and collect money for a worthwhile charity. This year from the sale of a lovely bullseye quilt (made by Bev I) and donations, we were able to provide 5 sewing machines to women in the Solomon Islands! Anne came and gave a really lovely talk about Mary. Mary the mother of Jesus that is. Anne put us in the shoes of Mary and we travelled through her life to the death of her Son on the cross. It was profound to think beyond the usual C...

The school library are throwing out some lovely old books. They are out of date. I intercepted them as they were about to be thrown into the paper recycling bin. I ignored the rolling eyes and the "what are you going to do with all those old books?" comments and whisked away the books in the book trolley. (there were a lot!) Oh, firstly at lunch time the kids helped me to rip pages out, fold them and staple them into paper chains to decorate the library for Christmas. Then I took some home and made this… I am so happy with how it turned out. It all started with searching the web for craft ideas for using up old books. Watched this one You Tube video . Then just a few hours and materials I had around the house and ta da! Basically…  Start with a large circle of cardboard (40 - 50 cm round?) I used a lid from a fruit box. Put a point in the centre. with a compass, draw 2 circles, on with a diameter of 10 cm and the other, 20cm. Ma...

Dianne's daughter, Siobhan, requested a quilt for her 21st. Well, good things are worth waiting for. With a lot of encouragement and some creative stitches from friends, the quilt is finished! (maybe 6 or 7 years later than first planned!) It was a great achievement for Dianne and she even stepped out of her comfort zone to stand up and point out some of the precious stories, bits of lace, tatting, doilies and humour that were all part of the 'Siobhan' story quilt. Well done Dianne. You can be proud of your quilt and your daughter! Here it is!                                             Thanks for sharing it with us! Oh, and Happy belated 21st Birthday for Siobhan! ;) (PS: Anyone wanting to get started on their Old Book Wreath, click here .)

One of my many hats is playing the recorder in Bushband. Yes I know.  Random. Bushdances were all the rage in the 90's. There are still some happening here and there, now and then. Last night we played for a fundraiser to raise money for a local Scripture Teacher to be paid to work in the local high schools. It was the craziest bush dance I have played for! There were hundreds of teenagers who had never been to a bush dance before. They thought it sounded a bit lame beforehand but they had SO much fun. They really got into it and even though they really didn't sound like they were taking any notice of the caller (my Annalee), they did the dances as pros and had a ball. There is one dance where there are chocolates for things like… the couple with one bearded partner (or something like that) and they got a chocolate. I stole a chocolate myself and look what my Freddo Frog was doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a freddo frog. Priceless.

Peter has a beard. Peter has a very long beard. Peter loves his beard. Peter's beard is getting TOOOO long (personal opinion here). Peter has a heart. Peter has a big heart for the underprivileged women  and their families in India. Peter thinks his beard can help raise $16,500 to fund a project. Peter likes a project run by " Compassion " to educate and equip women in India to be able to run their own businesses or become employable with their new skills. Peter thinks people love his beard too and would sponsor him by donating money if he shaves off his beard because it is such a huge sacrifice. Peter is surprised by the people who are so cruelly saying "Yeah, I'll give money if you please get rid of the beard!" Peter doesn't care about people's opinion of his beard (?) as long as they give. Peter's deadline is 16th November. Peter has a revised goal of $10 000 before he shaves it all off. Peter is only up to $8165 ...

Sien has never finished a knitting project. Ever. Until NOW! It doesn't matter that it is finished just in time for summer ;) There are cool evenings in a Sydney summer, so I'm sure she will get to enjoy it. With the help and encouragement of the wonderful Wendy-Shirley-Valda-Roma team, Sien can be very proud of her achievement. It's great beanie with the right amount of slouch! She used a beautiful pure wool yarn. She made some pom poms for the end.  But the pom pom dilemma is... One, two or three pom poms? She decided on three. But then she thought it looked a bit like a moose. I guess this doesn't help does it? Sorry! I couldn't resist. :) GREAT BEANIE SIEN!!!!!!

Karin is the one still trying to finish the baby cross stitch for her son before he moves out of home! Well, maybe it's because other fun projects come in between! Karin went on a quilters weekend away. Everyone who registered for the weekend received a pattern and a bit of background grey fabric. They were all told to make a square using any batik designed fabric and bring it along. If you brought one square, you get one ticket in the draw. If you brought 2 finished squares, you get 2 tickets etc. There were a few different prizes apparently but Karin won the coveted prize of all the little squares. She then had to put them together and quilt them, but that is not so bad when all the squares have been made for you! Lovely result Karin! Now, get on with that cross stitch!

We try to provide some gluten free options for the ladies at The Craft Group. Usually they are banned from others. (Sometimes that is easy because no one really wants them!) But the other day, Bev G provided some savoury delights that I couldn't keep my hands off, even though I have no problem with gluten. I will definitely make these the next time I have to provide a plate of little finger food for an event. Introducing... Bev's Salmon Crepes Easy! Buy a packet of frozen, gluten free crepes from the supermarket.  (In sydney the GF ones are available in IGA stores) Mix a tub of philodelphia cream cheese  with a medium sized tin of nice red salmon and add some finely sliced shallots. (optional, a blob of thousand island dressing - watch out if it's gluten free) Spread of the crepes and roll,  then cut,  then stick in a tooth pick. You won't be able to stop at one! (Bev also made some using ham, but I didn't take much notice ...

After a bit of a break, term 4 at The Craft Group has started up again. It was SO nice to see everyone again, craft in hand, stories to tell. Love... an embroidered quilt by Wendy. Coming along nicely. Wendy P was there. About a month ago her husband passed away. He had been living in a nursing home for the past 2 years and Wendy said it was his time to go. But it is super sad for her to have to say goodbye. He was only in his 70's. She is continuing to volunteer at the Nursing home because she has spent so much time there in the past and she is such a lovely person with a lot of love and care to share around. We pray that you will continue to know God as your real, everyday Comforter Wendy! We are so pleased you had the strength and desire to come along to "craft" yesterday. Big hugs from us all. xxxxxxxxx

Yes, I am still alive! Life has been busy in the last few weeks. Mark's sister and husband are in Australia from Canada for a 4 week visit. We had some lovely days with them in the Blue Mountains and in beautiful Sydney....and a full family reunion with all the relos soon. We had 50 teens here for Miss 16's 16th birthday party. Lots of fun. Then Miss 16 got a part time job, a bank account AND her learners drivers licence. Wow, turning 16 is a big thing! Mr 19 passed his driving test and is now able to drive on his own. Hmm, we have to share a car again. Miss 23 came back from her 6 weeks in South Asia (but wants to go back and live there for a few years!) :)  :(   It is her birthday today! We are going out for lunch. She says she wants a steak. No curry. We went to pick her up from the airport. In the one hour we were away from our cars, some "person" stole all Mr 21's carpentry tools. $3000 worth. How ironic. We were SO happy that our daughter was sa...

At The Craft Group we always break for coffee and I do announcements...sales that are on... whose birthday it is. Then we do a little 4 minute "Thought from the Bible".  We follow different topics and lately we have been doing "Women of Faith".  We've interviewed some women, looked at some women in  the Bible and shared stories about people have heard about. Recently Lydia shared about a young woman who she is reading about, Katie Davis. Katie is from the States and is living in Uganda. She is now 23 but by the age of 21 had adopted 14 girls. Why would she do that? Listen to this short clip to meet her... If you want to read more about this young woman and her faith, read this book ... Buy it here. Or, really see what she is doing and thinking and believing by looking at the blog of the ministry she has started up called "Amazima"   HERE . Or her personal blog HERE . Plenty to think about. What a woman. What a God!

As soon as I have big things coming up, I drop the blog! Sorry! This week we have a son turning 19 and a daughter turning 16. there are presents and parties and cakes and a puppet show to perform at school. Brain full. It fills up quicker these days and can't fit anything else in! But, you might feel like looking up a free craft pattern for...well... just about any craft you like! Loose yourself in the Fave Crafts website if you have a spare few hours (days...weeks). Enjoy, or as they say in NL "Genieten!" www.favecrafts.com