Evergreen terrariums

I've made a few live terrariums in the past and blogged about them here. However as low maintenance as they're supposed to be I found my haphazard manner of watering is just not compatible with live plants. So, I started to look for alternatives with a similar look but using no live plants or messy soil. 

As luck would have it, I found some 'moss ribbon' from this fancy ribbon and paper shop Papier D'Amour. Even better was that they were having a pop up sale down the street for all their Christmas stuff so I bought a few more things than expected. I love it when life falls into place like that.

In a fit of inspiration the other night I was able to put all my bits and bobs I had made and collected and finally made my artificial terrariums. They're a bit whimsical and are perfect for display on your office desk or around the house. They never fail to make me smile.

If you'd like to make your own, all you need is:

- glass jar (cup, fish bowl, old coffee container)

- ribbon moss

- rocks (smaller white pebbles work best)

- polymer clay (I used the baking one)

- pins (sewing or bobby)

- acrylic paint

- clear sealer

- fake leaves

Now I know its a long list but you don't really have to use all of it, just scrounge around the house and garden, it's amazing how you can re-use items. 

Method:

1. Make sure you jar is clean and dry. If there is sticky residue from the label just soak it in boiling water for a few minutes then scrape it off. I cheated as used some glue dissolvant.

2. Place 1-2cm of rocks in the bottom (depending on how high your glass jar is)

3. Cut an appropriate piece of moss ribbon, pull around the edges to get the appropriate shape (Note: I find moss ribbon can shed a lot of green flakes, keep this so you can glue them onto rocks for a moss covered rock look).

4. Make your figurines from polymer clay and bake per packet instructions. Remember to place your pin into the bottom of the figurine so it will stay in place in the moss ribbon. 

5. Once cool, paint them and once dry, apply a layer of clear sealer. You don't really need to do this but I like the shine it gives.

Before clear sealer - matte.

After clear sealer - shiny!

6. Arrange display, you made need some long tweezers if you have a really tall jar but there's not limit to the scenes you create.

Life in a flash

Reading clockwise.

1. Daisy is over for the week, first encounter with miniature things.

2. Marcs dress with peter pan collar. Current project.

3. Owl figurines in tea shop in The Strand, Sydney. So darn cute.

4. Mossimo poppy print pants. Pretty print.

5. Bake sweet potato chips, perfect as is.

Friday Feline Feature - kittehs!

Ok so it's actually Saturday. Let's not go into technicalities here. Rather than feature a famous kitty, I'd like to post some cute mini kittehs we've had come into the clinic over the years. 

Three cheers for Leo, Squishy, Pippy and Monty (sorry to the kittens names I forgot). They'll surely make you squeeeee!

 

Le cat!

I remember the first time I met Amelie. I've just nervously walked into the clinic for my job interview and sat in reception. I looked to my right and there sat an adorable cat. I raised my hand and placed it 10cm from her face to see how she'd respond. She jumped up and rubbed her face against my hand. And there we began.

A former nurse at the clinic who first took on Amelie at the clinic named her after the French movie of the same name because at the time, she was so cute and dainty. Five cushy years of clinic life has left her far from dainty but she grows more adorable every day. I thought I'd make a tribute to her French roots.

Work/life balance

It's hard for me to fit time to sew around work. I work 8 hours a day at a Vet clinic then get home and all I want to do is sew. I sew for around 5 hours a day when I'm not eating, working or sleeping. I truly love it and time goes by so quickly when I'm in that creative zone. Don't get me wrong, I love being a Vet and going to a place where I can cuddle animals all day and make a positive impact on an animal's life. So how do I find the balance between the two?

At the moment I'm trying to balance being a Vet and doing my feline medicine course and squeezing in a lot of sewing around it. But I'm neglecting my studies a bit because when I get home from work, I REALLY don't feel like doing more Vet work. As a clear sign of defiance I've made the following two tops in the past  two weeks when I really should be doing my assignment. 

Last night I dreamt I was in the middle of a maths exam and all my nails were rotting off. I think the stress of trying to fit everything is getting to me and I have to cut back on something and sadly I'm thinking its the sewing. It's upsetting to think about it but until the assignment is done...I'm going to have to unplug the sewing machine.

How to make a peplum top/dress

As I've mentioned in previous posts dear reader, my mum is a bit of a hoarder. The other day I was over visiting and was just curious to see if she had any leftover material I could use to make some things for my market stall (not like I need anymore since I've got my own hoarding fabric habit). 

Lo and behold, she's got about 20 full rolls of this coloured stretch fabric that she bought for $3 per roll at a closing down fabric store. Apparently she went back 3 times and bought $100 worth which filled up the ENTIRE CAR! So naturally, I took a bit home, perfect for the peplum top and skirt I've been planning to make.

There are some tutorials online but they're not as 'peplumy' as I'd like. I wanted a lot of ruffles! So I made my own peplum pattern using some disposable medical drape material. 

I did make a prototype (see above) but found that the seam at the top was unsightly so I fixed this by adding an inner panel that folded over so the seam was on the inside.The skirt is just a basic pencil skirt which I made a separate pattern for.

Going to the markets

My friend Nancy and I are going to start a market stall. It all came about over brunch the other week at Three Blue Ducks in Bronte. I had the fish, it was delicious. All this yummy energy put our creative brains into over drive and we thought - hey - we have something to offer the world. We can create goods that people may exchange some money for. Let's do it!

That night I was so excited about it I couldn't sleep til 2am, ideas zinging through my head like a neutron in those neutron accelerating machines - just gaining speeding and momentum. Well first I needed to do some research, what things could I sew that people will want to buy, with a personal touch of course. From hours of research on  the net, looking around what's in shops and browsing on the net I've decided I'm going to make a series of Spring collared blouses, peplum tops, pleated skirts and some bow dresses.

Coincidentally, I've recently discovered my mum can knit and crochet. Really well. One compliment one of her crocheted beanies and the following week she's made me three beanies a scarf when I really just wanted one. That's just how mums are - overflowing with love. So I put two and two together and asked her to maybe make a range of something I've always loved - wool cactus. The juxtaposition of something that's supposed to be prickly to something that's so soft to touch is awesome. Here's the first one, you've gotta admit - it's 100% awesomeness.

I've also started the first of my peplum tops. This is just a prototype with some spare material I had around. Hopefully I'll be able to perfect it on the next go. I made the pattern out of spare surgical drape material we couldn't use from the clinic. The plan is to get a market stall sometime in October. 

And lastly I'm re-doing some of my terrariums with some new moss and plants and I'm making some stonehenge figures for it too from polymer clay. Busy busy busy.I'll keep you updated on my progress.