mbeleko

Baby blankie

2012-01-23T01:57:00.000-08:00

I wiped this up yesterday morning but didn't get a chance to post with a busy afternoon...

Using fabric scraps from the stash, the inner is an off-cut from a sling and the outer a sarong I haven't worn in years. The sarong is quite fitting really I brought it in Townsville when I was pregnant with Xander, so a nice piece of synchronicity there...

I opted for some contrast stitching to hold it all in place, the soft voile fabric didn't want to hold the shape to well.

Its a great easy way to make a baby blanket, will have to find some big scraps to make a few more... But now to find a new project for the next week...

Mbeleko rebirthing

2012-01-21T04:15:00.000-08:00

For years now I have been thinking of updating the whole Mbeleko identity. I am no longer making slings and whilst I have made the odd one here and there over the past few years my passion for the business is long gone.

I am however still a creative woman and feel more myself when being creative. As an incentive I am rebirthing this here blog, with the commitment to blog about something I've made every week. I would love to say each day but I know that is setting myself up for failure. So each week it is, with work that it the best I can achieve and anything above that is icing...

In the interests of keeping the insiration high I have spent the afternoon Pinning over at Pintrest. What a fantastic little universe that is, never again do I need to re-google for that awesome thing I found the other day...

Now where to start this new blogging adventure, with baby number two on the way after am eight year gap baby crafts are high on the agenda! Tomorrow I hope to knock out a simple baby blanket following this tutorial, from Apostrophy Designs.

It's starting small but it starting... never to be underestimated starting

tumbleweeds and love of staple guns

2009-11-22T02:27:00.000-08:00

I don't even want to look at the date of my last post, I know it was over 12months ago... ah well life happens eh. I think I stopped blogging here around the time I started working and there just weren't enough hours in the day...
Well let blow out the tumbleweeds because I've been spontaneously creative again. No more uni sapping me dry and taking every creative urge. So finally got around to a project I've been putting off, the covering of the chairs!

I started the day with three chairs that looked a little like this:
Well I say I started the day but it reality I've been living with this strange browny velvet for most of the year... I have had the fabric sitting around that I wanted to cover them with for about that long as well...
But motivation struck this morning! Rapidly followed by the tragedy of re-discovering ones staple gun in pieces. Alas a trip to bunnings was needed! And then oh fun of fun the joy of a working staple gun the pops in those little suckers with such aplomb can never be underestimated and so the day drew to a close with chairs like so...

meteor messenger

2008-06-14T00:28:00.000-07:00

I had the rare privilege of a weekend afternoon of uninterrupted time as the young prince went to his first football match with friends. So I got to making this cute little messenger bag for my cousin's 12th Birthday. I have been thinking out how to make it all week and I think it turned out really well.I used a black drill and the rest is sling off-cuts. I just adore the fabric on the front its called meteor on the selvage and its close to my favourite of the retro screen prints I've come across.

I lined it with another off cut, stripey gelatti for the main part and yellow for the flap. I'm really happy with the end result it was one of those great moments of the outcome exceeding what I had envisaged.

I hope the recipient is equally impressed.

busy busy tired

2008-06-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

Its terribly easy to get of the habit of blogging for a few days and then suddenly its a few weeks. I've been so caught up in getting uni stuff finished (yay) then super tired after doing the crap house cleaning job (nay) and then all excited and nervous over applying for, interviewing and getting a 'real' job (quadruple yay).

So the blogging has been on the back burner, very little cratyness happening down this way. Although the white tiger I had here for the weekend did some lovely spontaneous crafting of his own and made a paper transformer! And this mornings trip to two newly discovered oppys has made some inspiration begin to bubble.
Lots of wonderful doll hair I am seeing with this bunch of wool, the ginger mohair should be most fun! The teapot, cups and box all came from the free tub and I think will make great pots for succulents to sell and the school. We've got a parents club up and running which is proving to be a lovely distraction and so far very welcoming and down to earth.

Dancing Diva

2008-05-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

Diva finally choose an out fit today! Looks like she's a purple Lycra kind of girl! It doesn't come up in the photos but the tops has a bit of a ghost of a print on it. A lino cut my mum and I were playing around with a few years ago.
I'll be a bit sorry to see the mesh fabric go, its awesome but its been in the stash for a long while now.

ramble

2008-05-25T02:53:00.000-07:00

The great thing about tomorrow is that it just never comes LOL. Diva hasn't decided what she wants to wear yet and its been slowing down my creative process. So the last few days have been filled up with sling sewing, of just the plain old blues so just work more than excitement there. That and there's only a week left of semester so lots have hours have gone into that! I've been working pretty non stop on the ublo design far to hard in fact I am feeling a little burnt out by it and have made the very very annoying mistake of only saving a jpg of a file not the ai which means I either have to settle for the not so great one or do it all again.

I did get mildly inspired this evening and whipped up a hot water bottle cover, was over the messy-ness of using a pillowcase. I'm trying to find ways to use up this snow leopard fabric as its bulky and takes up far to much space in the fabric stash...

Diva and Gypsy

2008-05-20T03:32:00.001-07:00

These girls are just about set to go out and dance the night away...

Meet Diva, purple eyes, luscious lips and abundant curly hair she's a very funky doll.
She is however awaiting some clothes be-fitting to her image, tomorrows task.

And joining Diva today is Gypsy. Gypsy has been around for a while waiting to find her place in the world...

robotie softie

2008-05-18T04:07:00.000-07:00

As requested by the little one I spent this morning making a robot that has been christened with the original name of robotie and is cuddled up in bed now so I think we can say mission accomplished and robot experiment successful.
He's a bit rough and ready but I think that adds to his charm and Xander chose the fabric keeping up his everything blue obsession.

I think got stuck into a much more complex doll but preceded to run out of stuffing for her body...

ma ma pa-jigs

2008-05-17T03:57:00.000-07:00

Two more ma-jigs today and joining them for the first time a pa-jig. These are so fun to make and its just amazing how their personalities come out. I sewed their faces whilst I was chatting to mums at a kids party at a play center I think that might account for the oranged haired ones rather startled expression.

I've had a request to make a robot tomorrow, sounds like a bit of a challenge but it would be good to work out a softie that's a bit more boy orientated. Whilst my boy says all the dolls are cute he's not exactly itching to play with them... So hmmm robot...

another softie

2008-05-13T20:34:00.001-07:00

There is something about making softies or dolls that I just adore! She didn't turn out quite like I envisaged but I still think she's pretty nice. No name has come to me for her yet but she's an elf of sorts no doubt with feet like that!

test 1-2-3-mosaic

2008-05-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

I put my hand up at Xander's school to create a series of mosaic murals for the the exterior walls to make it look more school like and help with the schools unfounded bad image. I'm not sure how it quite got from me suggesting a mural to agreeing to come up with up to 15 huge panels... I am a little daunted to say the least. I've been mulling over ideas for a couple of weeks and almost have an idea, almost. I think I'll scale it back to six panels to start with as mosaics are so time and labour heavy and expensive too. The panels are the old blackboards 1200x1200mm. The idea is I come up with the designs and then with the kids we make the mosaics.
So considering I have only really half made mosaics before, I thought I'd have a bit of a trial go. Working with the limited materials I had at home, yes thats right I smashed up some dinner plates! Well I got a few smashes in and Xander took, over don't need to ask a boy twice if he wants to play with a hammer LOL.
The results is pretty dodgy but it was more about getting a feel than producing something pretty. Oh and I just did it with PVA so its probably going to fall apart anyway. This is when the glue is still wet so I'm sure it'll look a bit better grouted...
It has confirmed that I will stick with the mosaic as the medium. I do love it and it really gives that community art feel which I think will have the desired effect on the school much more than paint. So now I need to work out how to make the designs work together and look cohesive some how... hmmm...

another ma-jig

2008-05-09T04:58:00.001-07:00

A sister for the first ma-jig, this time a made her hair a bit more side ways...

sleepy-by/wakey-by

2008-05-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

When I was a wee girl this was one of my most loved dolls and she's the only one thats still with me so that has to be saying something. I love dolls and hope one day in my twilight years to have a room filled with them that little girls will come and gap at... In fact that just stirred a distant childhood memory... but I digress.

Here is my sleepy-by/wakey-by as she is today, very well loved over the years, but doing well for a doll my mother made in an afternoon about 30years ago.

wakey-by

sleepy-by

I have asked my mum how to make those fabric bubbles so many times but alas they were an op-shop find of her's made up like that, boy they were fun as a kid. I will have to investigate that some more.

So a few months ago a lovely little girl was having her first birthday and was looking for a lovely gift. After trawling through the fabric stash and coming up with very little white fabric I almost gave away the making a doll idea. But then I remembered sleepy-by/wakey-by and wiped up this.

wakey-by

sleepy-by

I was pretty happy with the results and the said little girl showed much enthusiasm and rewarded me with one of the loveliest smiles I know.

And today I thought I'd have another go without resorting to the original whilst making it so just making up the shape from memory, she turned with rather pointy toes and long neck but shes got something going for her.

wakey-by

sleepy-by

finding the thread

2008-05-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

How cool are these! I stopped in at my local op-shop after walking the boy to school this morning and was rewarded with this gorgeous find of old thread. There was an enormous basket full but I limited myself to this selection. I have never seen thread with paper casing before I think it must be pretty old. Its so funny the things that turn up in op-shops someone must have had a thread obsession me thinks.

Ma-Jig

2008-05-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

I had a great day of sewing today fitted in around all the other far less interesting bits of the day and here she is the first ma-jig! I am really pleased with how she turned out, I just made what I was thinking and it worked even better than I thought. I especially like her hair which was a last minute addition and I think just makes her, running a comb through the wool gave it a great effect.
Its funny how things open up to you when you are motivated isn't it. I stopped in at savers this morning after getting the same old black lawn at spotlight for a sling and happened upon three awesome pieces of retro fabric! I haven't found any decent fabric at savers for yonks and here are three big pieces. I was pretty stuck in the just making slings mindset but now I'm just going to make whatever strikes me I feel much freer, yay.

and the wise owl said...

2008-05-07T02:46:00.000-07:00

Just do it! (or was that an advertising campaign)

However the message remains the same, I need to just do it. I took a sojourn into old Melbourne town this morning to investigate the goings on at Craft Victoria. And found myself surrounded by the most gorgeous of item, bags and purses and cushions and soft toys. All of them divine and all of them so generously priced. I am left with the keen feeling that I must go on letting the crafty me sleep no more. I do believe I have an eye for making things like those that are so popular right now and so it is time. I feel a calling to get things moving and sew up a storm.

I have be debilitated by the depression caused by the evil rising of the rent, but the problem is never going to to just go away. So I'm going to set myself a task of making one new thing each week. Just one little toy or bag or whatever it is that is calling to be made. Right now I am not going to even think about what to do with them after I make them but I just need to create.

Now to the sewing cave hat girl...