Irene Village Market

Last week Saturday Gaz and I decided to take a drive to the Irene Village Market.  The Market which lies on the beautiful grounds of the Smuts House Museum is about 40 kilometres from Johannesburg and definitely worth the drive. I truly believe this market has been the pioneer in setting the trend for all the newer lifestyle markets which have popped up more recently. 

Held on the second and last Saturday of every month,  the market offers an AMAZING antique section, YUMMY food stalls and tons of other homemade, homegrown and handcrafted exhibits.

Our Advice...

GO EARLY- the market gets jam packed from as early as 10am. 

TAKE CASH- if you draw cash at the teller you'll be charged a hefty 10% surcharge.

...AND BRING YOUR FURRIES because the market is pet friendly. Had we known this- Colby & Mila would've definitely tagged along for the adventure.

09:00 -14:00

every second and last 

Saturday of the month.

tel: (012) 667 1659 

weekdays 09:00-12:30

fax: 086 6566 254

PO box 985, Irene, 0062

email: irenemkt@mweb.co.za

Celebrating Silverware

One of the most popular collected items amongst women is silverware and even if you are not a collector, most women have an antique silver heirloom tucked away in a dark cupboard somewhere. We always say we are going to use it for a special occasion but then no occasion ever seems "special enough". I love silverware and have decided to use it whenever and wherever I can. After all, life is too short to wait for the perfect moment.

So if you want to display your silverware, but you don't quite know how then this post is for you. Below is a little project I did for my mom. She has tons of silverware- tea pots, sugar bowls, gravy boats- you name it- she has it. Sadly though, the items were collecting dust and not being showed off as they should. So we decided to create a "silverware mobile" that would hang directly above her coffee and tea station. We just screwed some hooks into the roof, hung the silverware with some ribbon and it really was as easy as that! I also decided to use the sugar bowls and milk jugs as mini-vases by putting some water and some pretty roses in them. The best part is that if my mom ever needs to use the items- she can just slip them off the ribbon! Check out the pics below to see the finished product.

I've also shared some more inspiration and ideas from Pinterest of how you can Flaunt the Silver that Yo Momma Gave You! Enjoy...

The Silverware Project...

Love & Blessings
Abz

Get Organised & Make Your Own Pin-Board.

One of the things I really want to get right this year is being organised. I'm not the most unorganised person in the world, but there is certainly always room for improvement. Sometimes I have the best intentions to put all my notes, magazine clip outs & scraps of material in one place but they always mysteriously end up in my bottom desk drawer! Gaz is pretty much the same. He'll clean his desk and within a day or two it's already piled up with music chords, forms, briefs and random sticky notes. Actually, I now refuse to buy Gaz sticky notes because he has an actual problem with those lol. 

2013 however, is going to be different! That's why I asked my mom to make me a cute pin board where I can systematically pin all my inspirations. I could have actually made it myself, as all it requires is gluing, sticking & stapling. BUT firstly, it must be said that my mom does everything better (she really does) and secondly we wanted to add a bit more character to this board and decided to sew on pockets and other embellishments (Uh-hmm yes, sewing. Something I've already told you I suck at...see where I said  here  ;)

So if you feel like you could do with a little more organisation in your home, office, studio, classroom or craft room then read my mom's commentary below and find out how you can make your very own...

Material Requirements:

Normal sewing notions such as : Ruler, cotton, pins, scissors etc

Soft Board – 85cm X 85 cm (Builders Warehouse stocks it in big sheets and you get about 3 big pin-boards out of 1 sheet – so make one for a friend!)

Material of your choice for the board

Batting

Scraps of material and lace should you wish to applique or embellish!

Cutting:

Board Cover:

Cut one piece of material 96cm X 96 cm (this can be slightly smaller as it just needs to be enough to cover the board with a little extra to wrap around for stapling.)

Batting:

Cut batting 85cm X 85 cm to pad the board.  Thickness of batting dependent on how padded you want the board to be.

Pockets X 2:

Each pocket consists of two pieces of material.  Choose two different colours for each pocket.

Adjust size should you wish to have larger or small pockets.

Front of pocket: (Larger pocket)- 

Finished size of pocket is 22cm X 18cm

Cut 23cm X 19 cm

Inside pocket and flap:

Cut 23cm X 26cm (7cm of the 26cm is for the flap) cut in one piece.

Front of pocket: (Smaller pocket) - 

Finished size of pocket is 20cm X 16cm

Cut 21cm X 17cm

Inside pocket and flap:

Cut 21cm X 23cm

INSTRUCTIONS:

The Pockets:

Pin rights sides together and stitch sides and bottom of pocket. (do not stitch top of pocket)

Turn inside out and press.

Turn flap over onto front of pocket and blanket stitch raw edge only – do not blanket stitch sides yet (you can turnover a small seam allowance on raw edge before stitching)

At this point you can embellish the pocket and the board cover by adding lace or buttons or applique-ing hearts or flowers - whatever you desire.

Mark and pin pockets to front cover as desired and blanket stitch pocket to board cover.  Remember not to stitch the top of pocket closed.

I placed the larger pocket on the bottom right hand corner and the smaller pocket on the top left hand corner

Remember to keep in mind that the edge of the material is not the edge of the board as we have added extra material to wrap around the board so, measure and mark where the edge of the board is on your material before placing the pockets.

Sew all applique (hearts or flowers) onto board cover.

The Board:

Glue batting to board and trim any edges that overlap the board.

Once all the sewing has been done, place finished front cover on board and start wrapping and stapling.

Best is to work from the middle outwards – you may need help here to hold and pull the material tightly over the board.

Staple material to board at the back.

Add hooks to back of board to hang on the wall or if you just wish to press-stick it to the wall that could also work.

Now stand back and admire your work! 

Ps. Should you wish to order one instead- please email ml@rightlink.co.za R300. Colours can be customized to suit your home.

The Finished Product. Thanks Mom! 

     Till next time...

xxx

3 Ways with Paper!

I really suck at sewing! No seriously, in Home Economics I did pretty well in everything EXCEPT SEWING. I was useless. Weird, since my mom is the Queen of a needle and thread. I've always been upset that I couldn't sew because there are so many amazing things you can make. So although I'm still learning with the stitch, I'm very grateful for scrapbooking paper! That's something I can do- CUT & STICK! Haha! So if you feel the same,  today I'll be showing you some simple, cute things you can do with paper for your next event.

This is what you'll need:

• Scrapbooking Paper 
• String or Ribbon
• Mini Pegs
• Tape
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Buttons, Washi- Tape etc

No Sew Paper Buntings

Although Fabric Buntings are first prize- these paper buntings take half as long to make and they look just as beautiful! There are so many different scrapbooking papers to choose from these days that you can have alot of fun choosing your prints too!

1. Cut each scrapbooking sheet in half

2. Fold each rectangle in half to form a square

3. With the fold at the top draw a triangle from each fold-corner to the bottom-centre of the paper.

4. Cut the shape out to form a double-sided triangle or BUNTING FLAG :)

5. Finally, secure each flag onto a piece of string/ribbon using glue (Alternatively, I used mini pegs so that I could dismantle the bunting later).

Paper Cones

I love paper cones because there really is no end to what you could use them for- sweets, petals, fish and chips or in my case popcorn. I used pretty scrap booking paper but plain newspaper looks good too.

You wont believe how simple it is! All you need to do is cut a circle (Any Size) with a 45 Degree angle cut out of it and then overlap the gap to form the cone.Then secure the end with clear tape. To finish it off you can decorate the cone with buttons, ribbon or washi tape.

Cup Cake Wraps

You've probably seen these in the shops before but I usually encounter two problems- 1. They are SO expensive (it is only paper after all) and 2. I often can't find ones to fit my theme/colour. If you want event stationery to match perfectly then I would suggest picking out your prints and making your own. Again, its really simple. Find the cupcake template here, trace it onto your chosen paper and cut it out. Wrap it around the cupcake and secure.

If you have your own unique ways with paper- let me know! Would love to hear more beautiful paper-craft ideas.

Much Love Abz

xxx