"The Craft Group" plus...

Thanks for sharing all your lovely cards with us from the March 2020 challenge! CLICK HERE to see all the entries! This next challenge is a little more open ended so watch the video below for more details. THIS CHALLENGE ENDS THIS WEEK - FRIDAY 15TH MAY! This month's challenge is to make something to decorate your home. The possibilities are endless for this one. So share with us a picture of what you have done and join us again soon for our next challenge. (Also tell us if there is a story attached to your creation!) APRIL 2020 Entry #1 - Annalee Annalee from Sydney So often we buy a kit when we are on holidays and then we get back to real life and it goes in the cupboard... unfinished. Well, this sweet embroidery was started in Thailand and now it is finishd and on her wall. It was not her intention to be living back at home for so long and a few months is going to turn into most of 2020 she thinks! So setting up and decorating her room has meant she still ...

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 They are out of date.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...

My ever changing blackboard door...

At The Craft Group we have a "Swap Shop". People bring in things they don't need anymore from their craft cupboard. Anyone can take items for free but need to bring something back in return the next week. Quite often there are large pieces of tapestry fabric and random bits of wool. I've never known what to do with the tapestry fabric base. Why not tie lots of pom poms onto it? Cosy! [source]

My front door mat drives me crazy because it is always slipping out of its position. I found this tip and it slides around no more! It couldn't be easier. See how to do it HERE . .

I found these  easy quilted cushions  on the web. The instructions maybe aren't super easy if you are not a sewer but it still looks like a good way to make some quick cushions. Let me know if you try it!

Well, I am back to my blog. School starts back today and I do NOT feel organised and ready for a new year! A few unexpected things happened and I am still only up to day 7 of the 15 day clutter free challenge! My son had a day off work last friday and so we pulled up the 30 year old carpet in the loungeroom, so you can imagine the disruption that causes.  This HAS to be my decluttering year! But... I don't like a stark empty house either  :) And I hate waste and throwing things out. I'd rather find another home for something or recycle it in some way. We all buy too much and throw away too much. I love it when I have something but I am sick of it so I put it away in the back of a cupboard for a while. Suddenly, one day I see the beauty in it again and out it comes to go on display.  At that point I am so happy that I didn't throw it away. Ahh and it didn't cost me a cent! This beautiful elephant is enjoying the glorious sunlight again after be...

I was keen to receive my first decluttering email and eagerly checked my inbox. Oh, that's right, it is coming from the northern hemisphere, so they are still finishing off Sunday while here I am keen to start my Monday decluttering! OK, I will let them sleep. I will start the challenge tomorrow. If you are interested, click here  and put your email address in the white space on the right. You will then receive in your emails a daily decluttering blurb to inspire you. I hope she doesn't expect me to tackle the garage. That is just asking too much! Maybe I will make some headway with the family paper work! source

Here is another reason why I love "The Craft Group".  We have ladies from all walks of life, from all different ages, doing all sorts of crafts at many different skill levels. There is no pressure to conform.  There is no one looking down their noses at someone else and their craft and do we have showoffs? You bet! We all love to show off something we have made and everyone loves to see it. I love the things Megan brings along to work on. This week it was a new head board for her son's bed. She brought along an  art canvas, some navy striped fabric and her mighty staple gun and off she went. Megan is not short and I have heard it said that  "All Sons Grow Taller than their Mother".  Have you heard that too? Do you know of any exceptions to the rule? Over the many years since I have heard the theory, it has always been true... except in one family I know. The 22 year old son is shorter than his fairly tall mother, but... the father is shorter th...

This is a very special box. I hope you enjoy seeing it's 'before and after', but I hope you enjoy reading it's special story too! BEFORE This chest, or trunk as my Dad always calls it, was in the storage area under the house I grew up in ever since I was born.  Things were stored in it, on it, behind it. I never really took much notice of it at all. It was just always there and all I knew was that it came with my Dad at some point in his migration to Australia. Years after I moved out of home I had a sudden light bulb moment that I LOVED that box. Mum and Dad were a bit bewildered that I wanted the old box as a coffee table but were happy that it was going to have a new life. It's had a busy life at our house. Here it is above, with a table cloth on it that my grandmother embroidered and a vase of pretty paper flowers that my youngest daughter made for me for mothers day.  We've changed our family room from being based on sandy yellow to white, so time...

I do love pretty, plain curtains. I really don't love paying big money for curtains. I really, really don't like sewing great big wads of fabric to try and make straight curtains. I don't mind cheating when it comes to curtains. So...  I bought some really cheap flat white double bed sheets from Kmart for about $12 each. I washed them and ironed them. Then I figured out how long they needed to be and folded the hem over again on the top and bottom. That's just 2 straight straight lines on the machine. I can't go too wrong with that. Then a bit of maths. Count the curtain rings. Work out spacing for little ribbon tabs and sew 10cm pieces of $2 a roll ribbon from the cheap shop. (cut at an angle). To complicate things slightly... the curtain you see below against the blue wall has a little 1cm overlap at each ribbon point. That is because the sheet was too wide when the curtain was shut. It looks nice with a bit of gathering. Stitch each...

I received a pile of free offcuts from our 19 year old's new profession as an apprentice carpenter. He works at the moment in a stair manufacturing workshop.  What a good boy, bringing plenty of firewood home from the throw-out bin for his Mum who is always cold in winter! Hang on. I do love firewood for the winter but maybe I can make something.  'Free' is always fun! I drew a few pencil lines to show him where to trim them for me. I cut right through the middle of the balustrade balls to make a flat surface to hold a candle. I staggered the heights. Then I pulled out some old house paint that was in the garage. I sanded them roughly to make them slightly distressed looking. New candlesticks!