bendy dolls

I tend to get ideas in my mind or see something that I like then think, I can't make those. I have enough projects on the go already. It happened with felting. But I couldn't get it out of my mind. It would seep into my thoughts during the day.
Same thing with these bendy dolls.


I've made 2 so far from this tutorial at
Princess Nimble Thimble
She does such beautiful work! And for boys too! I'll have to make me a pirate for my boy.


The purple was my 1st. Much happier with the 2nd. A great learning curve here. I think these girls like the sea too. Maybe I'll make some mermaids. And look on their heads. Them are acorns. It's acorn season! I've been waiting all year for the acorns to drop!

Neve is turning 4 next week! Hooray! So I'm making these in secret as a total surprise. She sees me make all kinds of things, but nothing has been just for her. Plan on making some kind of carrying case for them as well.

thanks for looking,
Amanda

silly hide n seek

For some reason, we were in the house a bit on Sunday. The kids started to run around and driving us crazy. So i took out the digital cameras and we had an impromptu game of hide and seek. not sure what the rules are.. you just couldn't get caught on film. The camera I had was so slow in taking the picture, the captee would always get away. I got a few good ones though




Love the expression! Gotcha!



We went to the Textile Museum of Canada yesterday. Some interesting things like the Molas of Kuna Yala. The stitching was so small, I couldn't even see them.As in, I think I need to start admitting I need the over 40 glasses. boo hoo.
The shop had a great selection of sewing books too.
When we went outside, the flower box was the recipient of gorilla knitting
or should I say crochet. It was a huge cement box wrapped with blocks of crochet. I wish I had my camera. i didn't even have my cell phone to take a picture. Oh well. livin' in my mind. wanna come visit?

have a good one,
Amanda

This week in Pedro land...

It's been a busy week in the Pedro household. Or I should say, outside of the household.
The week started off with soccer. The kid does run. a lot. the whole game. doesn't matter what position, he runs after it. he even runs after the ball that goes out of bounds after the whistle blows. crazy. He's #13 orange in front of the net.


We went to the butterfly conservatory. This is my favorite picture. it packed a good punch since Rafael learned about the butterfly life cycle this year. He was explaining it all to some kids that were gathered round.


A trip to Niagra falls and the Maid of the Mist boat. It was wet, it was windy, it was refreshing. I hid behind my 3 year old to get out of the spray. This is the before picture. the after is not so nice.


Even the flat family made an appearance.


And the week ended with the usual Friday night Race at the sailing club. My husband races every Friday. Last week, we got to go on the motor boat that went to the race marks. I used to be on that crew over 7 years ago, before kids. It was nice to get out on the water again. This week, we went tot he beach to watch. It was painful. Very little wind.


So now we have 3 days of nothing planned and a pass to the textile museum, family bikes in the garage, farmer's markets to explore... hmmm, maybe we will be busy.
Have a great one.

Amanda

this moment

{This moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Amanda Blake Soule



Have a good one....
Amanda

Troop of monkeys

Yep, I just had to..


I think I had beginner's luck. Not so happy with the 2nd one. It is bigger, on purpose, but the pipe cleaners seems a little flimsy for the length.


But I love his attitude with the hat.


looks like these guys are gonna be trouble....


thanks for looking,
Amanda

needle felted sock monkey

look what I made...

No, not that, this...


I made his limbs with pipe cleaners so they're bendy.



so much fun to make. i think I'll make a few more for my gift cupboard. this one has already been loved and claimed!

have a great day!!
Amanda

roving butterflies

I got this idea for these butterflies after looking at this tutorial for roving birds
here on Mothering with Rhythm and Rhyme



Mostly got the idea b/c I called them butterflies. When I went to make them, noticed they were indeed birds. The kids didn't want birds, they wanted butterflies. So they made suggestions on how to turn a bird into a butterfly, add some wings and antenna. so that we did.

I needle felted the stripe and the shape of the wings.

They move so nicely in the wind.


Fun to cheer,


And to kiss.


thanks for looking,
Amanda

handkerchief clothes... oh, and a winner!

First up, the winner of my gnome playset is......
I did it the old fashioned way and asked Rafael to pick a number between 1-30. He chose 16.
Maureen from Twig and Toadstool! Congrats Maureen. I hope it will be welcomed by all the lovely friends that you make. You must go visit her and Shanti's website. Awesome stuff. drool Oh, she has a giveaway at present too! (but don't enter, I wanna win!)

I had a great chunk of time sewing last night and I was on a roll....


handkerchief shorts. or bandana shorts. here's a great tutorial from
Blue Yonder

I was choosing regular bandanas and he spied the camoflauge in the pile. Cool beans. I like them, so does he. And he's finally gotten something homemade from mama. I'm definitely going to make PJs this fall. it is sooooo easy.



Next up was a pair for my godson who will be turning 1 next month. I may have made the waist too small to get over a diaper, but luck would have it, I have another kerchief to make a bigger one. Love the tag.


At the last minute, I decided to whip up this skirt.dress.shirt thing for Missy Moo. It really is too thin. She wants it as a dress, so straps will be added and a pair of shorts from jersey knit will be made. I use my serger on the inside. Love it! Thanks DH for the great christmas present.


Not much of a model these days, here she is running from me whilst trying to take a picture.


Thanks for looking!
Congrats Maureen. (Yes M, the leaf is my design) If you didn't win, don't worry, I have another opportunity or 2 to own something from By Hook & Thread this week.

cheers,
Amanda

Glue pictures---help!!

I had this pile of canvas circles given to me. They came from the Tilley factory. You know, Tilley Endurables?
ANyhow, I wanted to make something special with them. A bunting, but what kind? I decided on the glue batik look. Can't remember where I saw it. it was a few places. Big plans of having the kids draw the pictures in glue. Then I imagined having to wait another day before painting. No thanks, SO I did them up myself when they were in bed. Smart mama.

Aren't they purdy?

Today, we got out the paints, found brushes and got to work.


Here's Neve's work. She was so focused on it with a tiny brush. Then she wanted to do the grass and sky like mine. So cute.
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Here's mine. But can you see the problem? The glue is not coming off. What is the problem? What kind of glue do you use?

I used cheap dollar store stuff that I had on hand. Should I have used a more expensive glue? Would it have stayed in a string instead of sinking in to the canvas? We painted 4 canvases and spent too much time trying to peel the glue off with tweezers. So I'm going to call it a fail and use the back side to try it again. After I hear from you on what glue to use. Glue gun?

Here's my favorite magazine of late... check it out.


one more day to enter my giveaway pass it on...

thanks for looking,
Amanda

frozen orange juice

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to make theseFrozen Orange cups from Childhood Magic. I added a little cranberry juice to the juice before pouring.

Let me tell you, they were delish! As we were scraping them with our forks, oh so good, I was thinking I should take a picture, but it was too good to put down. Refreshing. And the best part, as I was putting the dish of orange bowls into the freezer, some of the juice spilled. So there was more icy goodness to scrape.

Go get some oranges and try it. It's yummy.

don't forget to comment on my giveaway here

thanks for looking,
Amanda

Gnome giveaway!

Giveaway is now over! Thanks for all the comments. Winner is Maureen from
Twig and Toadstool

here's my giveaway...


A little gnome, his leaf playmat/sleepingbag and a toadstool.


Made just for you.


All you do is leave a comment. Once a day until... Sunday Night July 25. that's it. I'll send internationally.


I know, the colours are a bit inconsistent. I played with some settings in iphoto. forgive, but it's still green and red.

It was hard to find some green grass to take a picture on. It's dry here. They've been calling for rain and thundershowers a few times now and we didn't get them. Toronto is a weather repellant.
The city is pruning our trees right now. Hoping to save a chunk of a maple branch to make some blocks out of. they wanted to cut the whole tree down (you've seen pictures in my blog posts with it in the centre of the yard) but we've convinced them to prune it and check back in a few years. Can't imagine how it would be with that big shady tree gone. It will have to come down, eventually. The trunk would leave a huge hole and the hill it created....

enough of that.. leave a comment for the giveaway and pass it on...
thanks for looking,
Amanda

giveaway to come...

I'm feeling a little giveaway-y. Stay tuned. Just have to make one more part and take some pics....