Crochet Australia is excellent

Hello world,

Just a quick note to say how excellent the people at Crochet Australia are. Not only do they stock all sorts of hard-to-find crochet yarn at their online store and respond to my email enquiries uberfast, look at the surprise that came in my package today!

Just what I needed!

~Eyespiral

Bridestorm

Hello world,

This past weekend we went to a friend's wedding and it was fabulous. It showed me that all the little finniky things that I would worry about don't matter all that much - that only my mum and any future brides would even take notice of a lot of the details that I might spend hours fussing over. Because Paul and Julie are sensible practical people, not crazy high-strung overthinkers like me, and I thought their day was so lovely. I guess it just reminded me that the big picture is what's important.

Planning a wedding is such a big part of the fun (and heartache) leading up to the big day. As I was walking to the station this morning I was thinking about something I'd like to do shortly after I get engaged: a bridestorm. I am positive the concept is alive and breathing around the world, but I feel the need to blog it as though it is a new innovation.

It's about bringing together all the girls (and any guys who are willing!) to start chit-chatting about wedding ideas. Getting mums and aunts and sisters and married friends and unmarred friends to bring along their ideas and things they love and things they know didn't work and flipping through bridal magazines and putting up all sorts of wedding blog ideas on the TV while we drink champagne and munch down with no concern for diet sounds like a lot of fun to have with a bigger group than the bridal party and long before the hens night or even the bridal shower. The best part is everyone can feed off each other for great ideas but with the big group you're not under the pressure to agree to everyone's suggestions - it's an opportunity to share ideas before you commit to any.

What do people think of this concept? Is it a good idea or am I stepping on the toes of the bridal shower?

~Eyespiral

A quick idea to liven up the loo

At my work every time I go into the loo I read the message from the cleaning staff. I can’t even tell you how many times I have read it from top to bottom. It’s ridiculous. But as with many people, if there are words in front of me, particularly if I am sitting there with nothing to occupy me, I automatically start running my eyes over the words.

So I know it’s not a new innovation to stick stuff on the back of the toilet door. Parents have been doing it for years with multiplications tables and alphabets for their kids. But I just thought – you know what would be good? If I could read something a bit more stimulating. So why not?

I think that decoupage is the answer. But not using pictures of flowers and cherubs and so on. Why not use the pages of books? Or even play scripts? If you picked up a couple of tattered copied of Hamlet from the school’s junk sale, or found a worn out book of poetry that couldn’t be salvaged even with ohdeeoh’s excellent hardcovering your favourite softcovers solution, then why not chop off the margins and paste it up on the back of the loo door, or if you are a renter like me, on a backboard which can be hung from a convenient hook?

I’m liking this idea a lot and I think I’ll go ahead with it if I discover some free time I’m not aware of. Plus if you get tired of what’s there, you can re-decoupage it all over again!

Some inspiration - click the image to go to the source. :)

~Eyespiral

Revived favourites: hardcovering old paperbacks

Hello world,

I love this tutorial by ohdeeoh on turning old paperbacks into custom hardbacks. I'm sure there's a number of titles in my bookshelves that could do with a loving revamp. And how lovely would custom covers be when you find a sad copy of an excellent book at the white elephant stall on the weekend?

I'd love to get my genius artist brother to draw illustrations for worn out books and recover them as gifts, that'd be wonderful. Ooh the blogosphere is so full of good ideas!

Animal-themed tag blanket for a baby boy

I whipped this one up quickly overnight to give to a colleague who is disappearing into maternity leave shortly - though it was difficult to part with, I'm comforted by the fact that I have enough of the fabrics to make another if I want. :)

~Eyespiral

Custom eye chart generator

www.eyechartmaker.com