Crafting the rain away

It has been raining almost solidly here for the last two days. Nothing better for a spot of crafting than the steady thrum of raindrops on an old tin roof. I have had this idea percolating in my brain for while now, the final inspiration came from this page of my Womans Day Handicrafts circa 1978..

A cup of tea, some toast and jam and a little bit of fiddly snipping and gluing of some wonderful vintage wallpaper samplers that I found on Etsy. Despite having all the precision of a moose in a china shop, teeny tiny intricate fiddly little creations have always appealed to me.( By the way, if you want to see a genuine moose pop over here, this thrifty girl  has one in her backyard from time to time).

As part of my Grateful project I knew some handmade cards would be required. This one is for this lovely lady. She is hosting the Fat Quarter swap and other than the joy of vintage sheets now covering her whole house, she sorts, counts and re-posts out of the goodness of her heart. Get those sheets in swiftly girls, it's finishing soon. Here is one of my contributions, all the way from the great Warrigal Oppie Warehouse adventure of September 2011.

I can't remember where this one came from, but I started chopping into it while the glue on that card was drying. Multiple projects on the go here at Betsy's. Would you believe this one is already half finished. (no guarantees for the other half).

And look what turned up at the oppie. I just cannot seem to walk past a dolly cradle. I think Nurse Nancy Liongirl and I might be opening a dolly hospital shortly. Not sure whether to de-sticker, clean and leave in the original orphanage lavender colour, or repaint.

And this little print, will be going straight to a certain little girl's room.

And I seem to be just stumbling across vintage toddler clothes galore lately. This one is sized 18 months.

Lucky miss Liongirl is expert at squeezing herself into too small clothes. If they are pink of course. Bet you had never previously considered scootering in a tutu.

Back soon, hopefully with another 100% completed project.

Tuppertoys and Owl toes

Remember last post I mentioned something about vintage Tupperware toys? Aren't they just the cutest. We are so pleased that these Zoo- It-Yourself animals have come home to live with us. They have completely interchangeable heads, legs, bodies and tails which if nothing else is sure to create some bio- diversity.

From my little bit of research I have discovered that they were released in 1966 and despite being 45 years old seem to be almost indestructible. They come as a combination set of dog, elephant and giraffe heads with interchangeable legs and bodies. Of course Roboboy wanted to genetically modify his own creature from all the spare legs.

And then he whipped up this little friend,

before announcing, "Look mama, a Pushmi-pullyu". You know, out of this super wonderful book that we found a little while back.

I think he's spot on. Well except for needing slightly longer horns.

In other news I was most surprised to see that I had been nominated for a Versatile blogger award by Annie from Artistica Domestica. Until I sat down and thought about (and googled) what versatile really meant. And then I figured if it means dabbling with ones fingers in a whole lotta different pies then that would actually be me. And definitely Annie as she finds humour and art in the wrangling of 5 small people.

 I had intended shortly doing a post  apologizing for the fact that while this blog was originally intended to involve a whole lot of house renovations, it has kind of meandered into being  about sporadic bursts of painting of Betsy interspersed with lots of op shopping, quirky kid things, crochet, sewing, gardening and too long sentences like this one.

Now that I have been told that this haphazard style of blogging is an acceptable thing, I am quite relieved as some of my favourite blogs are a mixed bag as well. I have lots of favourites, most are on my blog roll so that I can share what I like with everyone who visits. I love how there are so many blog styles. Thinkers, dreamers, writers, crafters, photographers,gardeners, embracers of small children and chooks.

 Mostly I love people who are doers- who have their own ideas and then follow them, and those who embrace and have gratitude for the small things in life, including their small people. If they also take gorgeous photos, well then that's the trifecta.  My two all time favourite blogs, who have perfected the trifecta, are Foxs Lane and Ivy Nest. I'm not sure how they feel about being nominated for awards, but pop over and enjoy your visit, perhaps make yourself a cuppa first.

Now I think I'm also supposed to write about why I started to blog but in the interests of keeping this post shorter than War and Peace, I will give that story the post it deserves another day. And now I know you are wondering about the owl's toe. Well, just another definition of versatile- capable of moving in all different directions.
I was kind of thinking that my blogging style was more of a dog's breakfast so I am  heartened to know it's actually more of an owl's toe.

Linking in with Sophie and all the other flea market finds.