November OPAM

Hello blogger,

My OPAM this month are three Cloth Books.

I had the opportunity to work with the 4yrs old kinder group while one of the teacher's took a well deserved holiday..
While there I came up with the idea of getting the children to draw on a piece of cotton and the I would turn it into a book.
There were three groups with 22 children in it..A task in a half  and three weeks later I manage to have all children do a drawing.
But firstly we had to have a title. 'MY Favorite Thing To Do At Kinder Is?
The children then drew a picture of their favorite thing.

 

The start of the sentence is eg: 'Sarah's favorite thing to do at kinder is? And then they would tell me what it is they like doing. They would then draw a picture using T-Shirt texters.

I then took it all home and painstakingly worked out how to put it all together..

 After sewing the blocks together, I sew two button hole stitches and the thread a piece of ribbon to bind the book.

The teachers were amazed and the children so excited, they couldn't wait to sit down a find their story..
The books will be raffled off to the parents to raise extra xmas money for the children's end of the year party.

A book of memories!
From
CraftyChookie.

'A Touch Of Risque'

 

Hello Bloggers...

This Piece Is called 'A Touch of Risque'..It was my boyfriend, Paul's birthday and I wanted to do something personal for him as a gift and so I decided to put everything that has inspired him throught out his band days into an Art Piece...

 Paul designed and had this guitar especially made, so I used it as my starting point for the art piece..>

I then gathered as much information:

His favorite Band,

Who inspired him,

His favorite songs,

Shows the band appeared in,

Oh and I better not forget the name of Paul's band 'Risque'.

Also added some symbols..The symbol were done using textured paste over a stencil I made..I then painted them and highlighted them with gold..


I put a wash over the article clipping once it was dry to give the art piece a rustic look..                              

                                                                                      

The guitar was the tricky part..Trying to paint it to exact tested my skills but I think I got close enought.

I used DMC cotton and sewed on the strings..

Thank you for stopping by..  :-)

xxxxCRAFTY CHOOKIExxx

My August OPAM!

Hello Friendly Bloggers..

My OPAM this month is a'Bug Quilt' I made for my daughter's teacher..
She's a first time mum, so I made it universal. That way she can hand it down to the next bubba..

I got the idea from Patchwork & Stitching mag Vol 5, No.7.

I blanket stitched around the applique.

I like to lay my work out before I sew it together.

I did a 'Stitch In The Ditch' to join the three layers of material.

The back of the quilt.

I'm very happy with the end result

I hope you enjoyed looking at my pics.

Happy Blogging.. :-)

xxxCrafty Chookiexxx

A free give-away!

Hello Bloggers...
Sometimes I amaze myself..Another post in the same month..Go Me! LOL

Do you like my art-work?
I've been doing some folk art lessons with a very creative lady called Anna, for a about 3 years..

Every now and then we venture out and try new craft projects together..

This one I put into my journal..I sponged the background, painted a rough vase and cut out some designs from a couple of napkins and arranged them..

I am now hooked on napkins..Every where I go I look for new designs and then share them amongst the ladies in Anna's art class and they do the same back..Oh and so does Anna..A great way to build a collection...Napkins?  Who would have thought...

Anyways, Anna is doing a give-away for achieving 100 posts..
Go Anna!
All you have to do is go to annarosadesigns and leave a comment...Also take a look at her blog..She does some amazing works..

You can leave a comment on my too if you want..
Love hearing from you..
Hugs >>>>>>>>>>>>Crafty Chookie...

'A Message In A Can!'

                                           Hello

A Big Boo Hoo to me for missing last months OPAM!

I've had so much going on like kids, work, funerals and the many little distractions that seem to sneak there way in....BUT,  the most surprising thing to happen to me was, finding out I have a high grade of dead cells on the cervix through having a pap smear...

I now have to have a biopsy and talk about options....

It was a shock...I am also going throught what the doc's say is pre-menopause..Not fun since I'm only 37...However, I have an overactive thyriod that has been playing up , which could be cause of my symptoms of early menopause.....It's so much to take in and very exhusting...

I missed my last months OPAM due to being extreamly tired and having the Can't Be's..

When I had manage to somehow find some engery I spent it doing the house work, looking after my rugrats and some sewing...Not to mention the odd fill in at the kindergarten..

My OPAM this month is my Jean Bag....

So easy to make and a good way to recycle your jeans...You can find this free idea from justchic

It was my niece's 16th birthday and she loves zebras...I found this really cute zebra print from the last craft show in Melbourne and made her a pillow collection and a make-up bag to go with.

I brought this really cute Bunny design that comes from the very talented Kerryanne of woodberry designs...

                                             It was fun to do and makes a great easter present...

Do you remember theses Aussie icons? My good friends and I went to see them at Milano's hotel in Brighten..They were ace!!!!

This is me with my very close girlies..

Me & Brian Mannix

Me & Eva von Bibra from the Chantoozies.

Rach & Scott Carnes from 'Kids in the Kitchen'

As my message in the can says 'Thank -You'!

Yep you are seeing a bean with a meassage on it...It was so cool to watch it grow and then being able to put it into the garden and grow yummy beans....

I'm hoping they with make some 'Merry Christmas' ones....Would make a great gift...

I got mine from my boyfriend Paul..He has a couple of shops  that deals with everything you need for the garden...http://www.caseyhydroponics.com.au/history.php

Wow, I hope I didn't talk your ears of, or should I say eyes...LOL

Anyways, take care and make sure you have your pap-smear test done...Very important..

Hugs to you all,

Crafty Chookie

"Memories of Mum"

Hello Blogger..

I've done it..I completed this month's OPAM...But oh what a challenge..I started with the left over print that I used on the cushion in my last post..

                        I then chose a pattern from AP & Q  magazine called 'Memories of Mum'

Such a beautiful title, I thought.. :-) Being mother's day this weekend..The pattern is by Cheryl Filby.

Instead of appliqueing the flowers, I used pastel pencil and colored the flowers in..I fixed the color using a textiles medium..

I then hung the flower prints on the clothes horse to dry over night..

 Once dried I placed each print onto a thin pallon to give it extra strength when I hand sewed around the outline of the flowers & hearts..

 The challenge for me was to incorporate the flower print into the quilt...Bright colors seemed to be the go..

 There were alot of strips to cut..

I like to lay my work out as I go so I can see what stage I'm up to

Another challenge was the quilting...I did  'Stitch in the Ditch' along each strip and around the flower squares...On the flower print boarder I did some meandering

I love my quilt...It all worked out well...It took some time, but I don't think I have ever done a quilt in one month...I hope you enjoyed reading and looking at my pics..

I would like to say a Big Big Big Happy Birthday to my boy Maison who is turning 11 tomorrow..

.(1-5-2000)

Hugs to everyone from Crafty Chookie..