I think imagination is a word...

"I think imagination is a word, it's like a dream but you're awake when you're having your dream..."

I know it' s not very 'adult of me' to watch children's programs on TV, but I think I have fallen in love with Small Potatoes.  The little child in me sings every time I hear the theme song.  Little O finds it very funny when I sing which in turn makes me laugh. 

This would have to be one of my favorites episodes....enjoy.

Anna
XO

I love a bit of bunting

Oh!  I just came across this and had to join straight away.  I loooove bunting!  I have made it for both my niece and nephew's room and made one especially for Little O's room for when he was born.  So many ideas, so many colour choices, do I sew, do I crochet??  What to make???

Please join and lets see if we can help Rachael achieve her goal (now if only I had a big enough house to hang it all).

Anna
XO

Crafty Challenges

So I’m letting you know that this post sort of comes in two parts.  Please bear with me, make yourself a cup of tea, take a seat, join me and come along for the ride....

The story begins a couple of months ago when two of the ladies whom I work with decided to do a “Chip-tox”.  For them, this meant that they would go 100 days without any form of chips what so ever.  Hot chips, potato chips, Twisties, Cheezels, if it was anything to do with a potato, or even closely related then it was banned for the 100 days.  Now I’m not going to say it was easy for them, there were days that they did struggle but we gave them as much support as we could and in the end they made it successfully.  Not a chip had passed their lips in those 100 days. 

One of these ladies just happens to be my boss, so a new concept was bought to one of our team meetings.  For the month of August we were all going to give up one thing.  We were given a week to all decide what this would be and then at the last team meeting in July we  all write down what it was we were going to give up and signed our names to it.  (Please don’t get the wrong impression of my boss, she is the loveliest lady and all this was done in fun, and some people did decide to take this really serious and give up some big things). 

We had people giving up chocolate, coffee, bread products, Face book, soft drinks, one even gave up being lazy and decided to committee to an hour exercise session (of any type) once a day for the month, and then came the big stuff, one lady decided to give up smoking.  I on the other hand really struggled with this, I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink coffee, I have to limit my chocolate intake anyway due to food allergies,  I really had no idea...

...and then it hit me!

 What is the one thing that I am guaranteed to buy at least once (maybe twice) a week? 

Craft materials! 

Anything from wool, to threads, to papers, to hooks, to needles, I have never been one to pass up a craft bargain or new product.  So that was my thing, I had to give up purchasing any new products what so ever for the month of August.  Now when I made this decision it didn’t occur to me that I had not only my birthday during the month (I love a good birthday craft spend up), but also my nieces and my own Little O’s.  How could I make things for them if I can’t buy any new products?

It was time to sort through the stash.

This ‘sort through the stash’ might sound easy but it’s not really when you have it all in different places around the house.  I wish I had a little craft studio or my own special room but I don’t so my craft supplies are all in little hiding places around the house.  It took me several days to get it all together but in the end I was able to successfully find everything that I needed and it didn’t look like  I was going to have to purchase a thing.

For my niece Miss C I was able to make her knitted doll (see previous post below) out of wool that I already had in my stash, but for my Little O I was going to be a bit more creative...

As previously mentioned there was a theme to his party and I was going to be limited to my colours, but I was able to gather supplies that I think complimented it.  It was hard work especially when it came to making his present. I didn’t have the right colours but I just had to make do...

And in the end I think I was successful.  Little O had the most wonderful day for his party, the winter sunshine was glorious, the children were outside playing, the adults were also enjoying themselves, all in all I think I did a good job and not a new craft product in sight!

Anna

XO

Pretty in pink or purple

As I have mentioned before I love making things for people especially the little ones, and recently I was able to par-take in my favorite past time as my little niece Miss C is about to turn one.  I found this pattern book a little while back and have been waiting for the perfect time to make something from it.  Miss C's birthday is the perfect opportunity. 

When it came to deciding on exactly what it was I was going to make for her I knew that I wanted a doll but what colour choices.  Miss C's room is a mixture of both pinks and purples and really how can you decide on just one colour.  And then I found the solution, why not do both... a little pink doll AND a little purple doll!  So I present to you Miss Rose and Miss Lavender (apologies for the photos, it was a very overcast day when I took these).

They are Topsy turvey dolls. When you want to play with one doll you just pull down the skirt section over the other dolls head and arms.  Apparently Master B (Miss C's older brother who is 4 yrs old) was playing with the doll all night going "Now she's pink, now she's purple, now she's pink, now she's purple".

And of course I had to make something else so here is another little present that we gave to Miss C as well...

The beanie pattern can be found here (a fantastic design by Jennie Harrell).  The crochet flower brooch is my own design.  I decided not to sew the flower so that this way the beanie can be worn without it, or the brooch can be worn on something else like a cardigan or little jacket.

And because a girl can never have too many accessories I also made a pink crochet flower brooch too.

Happy Birthday Miss C, we hope you have a fantastic day!

Anna
XO

Hoot Hoot Hooray, it's my birthday!

Little O is soon to celebrate his 2nd birthday.  Can you guess the theme?  He's a big Hoot fan, running up to the telly every time Hoot comes on. I think at the moment his favorite words might be "hoot, hoot" as he repeats it over and over again.    This is my version of Hoot that went on his party invitations.  It was rather cute as he watched me make them, each time I finished a card he would "Hoot, Hoot" with a big smile on his face.  I must admit it is a bit of an obsession for Little O at the moment, but I think a harmless one, and one that I am more than happy to share with him.

Anna
XO

Final moments

I love the final moments when you finish something that you have been making.  Lets be honest I can become a little obsessed when it comes to making things.  I come up with the idea of what it is I want to make, I dream about it, plan it in my head, choose the colours, gather my materials, and then begin making it.  I will get up early in the morning before anyone else awakens just so I can have some uninterrupted time as I sit there crocheting away.  Every spare little minute I have I will try and fit in a few more rows.  Well I have now come to that moment where I have finished my latest project, a gift for my friend's little one.

I must say that I am loving this program that makes these mosaics ( http://bighugelabs.com/).  I was reading Jules's blog http://littlewoollie.blogspot.com/ and she had an example of how she had used it...WOW!  What a great way to show your stuff.  If you are like me and take numerous  pictures of what you make from every know angle then this is a great way to display it.  Thanks Jules for the link.

Anna
XO

My Creative Past

As I have mentioned previously the meaning behind the name Esme Rudy comes from three important women in my life, My Grandma Esme, my Nanna Ruth and my Mum Wendy.  Each one has had a big influence on my life, especially my creative one.  So I thought that I would introduce them to you.  Sadly both my Grandma and Nanna are no longer here, but the skills that they have taught me and my memories of them will always be treasured.

My Grandma Esme tried all crafts. You name it and she probably gave it a go over her many years: patchwork, crochet, knitting, beading, card making, sewing, lead lighting, Ribbon flowers, floristry, decoupage, lace making, embroidery, teddy bears, but she was more well known for her beautiful porcelain dolls and china painting. Many a time did we go to her house and there would be doll pieces laying about on the dining room table. Ones that she had just taken out of their moulds and she was either in the process of sanding down, painting on their fine facial features, or putting the dolls together.  One school holidays I spent a week with Grandma and we made a doll together from pouring the slip into the moulds, firing, sanding, painting on the face, putting it together and then finally dressing it in hand made clothes from material that I had chosen from the fabric stash.

One of Grandma's tea cup and saucers.

A crochet blanket made by Grandma that covers one of our lounge room chairs.  The size is roughly big enough to cover a single bed, so plenty of room to snuggle under on the couch.

Even now I have many pieces around our home that she has made over her many years and some that I hope to hand down to my children.

My Nanna Ruth was a knitter.  From my memories as a child, she always had something on the go and it was usually a little cardigan for one of her many grandchildren.  I was always amazed that she could knit while watching TV and not even need to look at her work or the pattern (something that one day I hope to achieve), and that she could put her knitting down and then come back to it hours later and not worry about where she was up to, she would just start knitting away.  I have been lucky enough to inherit many of her knitting patterns and her well worn tortoise shells needles.

My Mum Wendy is also very talented.  Mum knits, sews, does the most beautiful embroidery and over the years has decorated the most amazing cakes.  Mum and Dad in years gone past used to run their own cake decorating business.  Let’s just say our birthday cakes as children were awesome.  Mum even made and decorated my wedding cake.

I must say though, that one of my most treasured possessions is my Christmas stocking that Mum made.  It was the first of many and over the years how beautiful they have become.  Mum makes her own designs and then embroiders them on canvas.  I have Santa carrying a sack full of toys, my brothers have a toy soldier and a Christmas tree surrounded by presents, my Dad has Santa fly fishing in a stream and my Mum has Mrs Claus reading her favourite books beside an open fire.  When Little O was born it was very exciting to see what design would be on his stocking (Santa on a house roof climbing into a chimney).  And of course with myself and Little O having one, I couldn’t leave C out, so I made one for him with Santa snowboarding (a favourite sport of his).



Not sure if the photo does it justice.  And did you know according to my Mum, Mrs Claus is a huge Tolkien fan.  That's her reading Lord of the Rings (oddly enough my Mum's favorite book).



Mr Claus partaking in one of his favorite past times...fly fishing.

This belongs to one of my brothers, a Christmas morning scene.

So with such talent in the gene pool I am lucky and blessed to have inherited some of the creativity that these special women have.  Here’s hoping I can inspire my children in the same way.

Anna

XO