Thingys to Make And Do

I have in my head, bubbling around, a little list of projects that I would really like to undertake at some point soon. Note the lack of schedule- schedules are not my favourite things- I get short of breath at the thought of deadlines, and will be doomed to failure if I take that route. I also have problems finding spare time. But I like to be distracted from day-to-day issues, and I have wishes to do things- to create and make, and adapt ideas and patterns and produce sparkly things! I need to weild scissors and glue, and make my sewing machine whirr, and find a style all of my own. I want my children to be brought up in a making environment too, and I'm missing the homemade Beautiful Things that were in my lovely home, on bookcases, around my twirly whirly staircase, on the front door, on the piano.... in every room at Christmas, from somewhere near the start of Advent, to Twelfth Night. The house looked so much more personal, and it was such a pleasure to be in. I'm loving the party prep that I have been absorbed in the last couple of weeks, and am sad at the thought of 'no more projects' once its all over. You bloggy people are not helping, with your Beautiful Things that are home-made! So I have decided that I need these kinds of handcrafted thingys to live Here, somewhen:

1) Loose covers/ throws which are Beautiful, (in a hotch-potch of patterned and pretty fabrics) to cover my sofa and chair, which are currently not Beautiful. I'd like to do something similar for the children's beanbags, if I continue to draw a blank looking for new loungy-seating for them. This massive project is just soooo clear in my mind's eye- I can see it! But I have literally no material! However, I do love a Charity-Shop trawl, and we have a wealth of them here, so its time to start collecting.

2) Artwork in my bedroom. I think I may be able to produce something of my own. It won't be spectacular, but it will be pretty, and flowery, (I love happy flowers) and all the things that I want my home to be- important stuff!!! I loved the dandelion pictures I saw in Louise's makeover. (I can't tell you what a release it has been, being able to adorn my little pad with my own things- feminine things, now that its We Three. The buzz I got from re-arranging the front entrance and putting my 'dolly' pegs on display in a pretty heart wire basket when I first became a singleton was a just a little bit fab!)

3) A modest Doll's House. Not a professional looking one, but something in the vein of the Blue Peter 'Barbie/ My Little Pony-Makes' that they used to do when I was growing up. You know the ones? Rooms made from cardboard, with wrapping-up paper walls, and clever things inside to makeshift into cool furniture.

4) A doll and a soft toy. More sewing projects. I like the idea of my children being involved with them personally. I've been thinking it over a while, wondering if it was more a project to undertake with Grandma's supervision in the Summer, then Lucy blogged about hers, and it got me excited. Back-burner with this one perhaps so that Pickle Missy is really ready to try sewing machines so she can 'create' with us.

5) Cards. More of them. I do enjoy making them, but don't seem to find the time very often, but this again is something that the children enjoy. I should have a few more creations put by, for card-related-emergencies, in the card box. I grabbed myself a good few ideas for Easter ones in my friend's Craft Shop recently.

6) Jewellery. I'm no designer, and I don't know anything about this really, but I just love accessories, and am thinking of doing my own research and collecting things that I could use over time. I could start with making badges, and things on pins and hairbands. I want to find a style here too.

7) A Bag. A nice patchworky bag, with perhaps some sewing detail, and buttons, and Beautiful Things on it. One with a huge strap, so that I can wear it across my body- I'm quite often a creature of habit, and that is really the only style of bag I can comprehend nowadays! Maybe I should start with more of a 'shopping carrier', and work upwards. Bags, much like the rest of it, are just a big complicated thought right now- I haven't made them since school. But I think I might just have to give it a go.




xxx