Good stuff for boys... and girls.

Such a firm favourite.
Archie's leather pouch and Hugo' little blue lamb.

Soon to be a ninja butterfly.

Fabric soup.

A boy with a teeny, tiny cold.

Over the weekend I have been thinking a lot about crafts for boys and the expectations we have of what they should be and what they will like.

Certainly, my boys think in ways that are so different to me that everyday I am taken by surprise. For instance, on Friday I was looking at a photo of stink beetles with Archie. He told me they had them at school in the bushes. I asked him if he said "Uggh" whenever he spotted them. He looked at me as though I was crazy and said, "No! I rub my hands all over them to get their good smell". Mmhmm.

On Saturday, Hugo was snuggling with Archie and sucking his (own) fingers. Archie informed Hugo that if he kept doing that his teeth would end up sticking straight out and possibly curl around and up his nose. I thought possibly this might be a quite a confronting statement but Hugo, with delight crowed "Really?". Once again, mmhmmmmm.
So yes, they think along very different lines to me and enjoy examining the innards of things I would usually look away from both literally and metaphorically, but still and to my relief... we have a shared aesthetic that I am so grateful for.
Archie loves having a Cath Kidston floral doona (duvet) cover which he says is like sleeping under a garden - and he likes gardening. Hugo, a very testosterone fuelled boy loves fairy tales and princesses and they both think that pink is a good colour... they just wouldn't wear it around friends.

So with our combined interests, my level of creativity gets a boost with ideas like ninja butterflies and circus themes and Noddy and dinosaurs and crocheted rabbits with their entrails exposed ( I haven't done this yet) and skeletons and flowers and beetles and all sorts of other things that I never would have considered without them.

Wings and Cloaks.

I have been thinking a lot about wings and cloaks. They are very good things I have decided and will be spending more time pondering them. Anyway, off for a Saturday bath. xxooxxooxx.

Princess and the Pea.

I don't know if you have noticed from my blog but I have two boys. Who I adore. And who I wouldn't change for the entire world. Except that we always seem to do more boy oriented craft projects.... which is fine.

However, when Hugo became obsessed with 'The Princess and the Pea' (the Lauren Child version), I knew that I had to harness the energy and make something beautiful with him. Five mattresses down, Hugo informed me that I had to make 24 so we are not quite as far along in the project as I thought we were. Still, I am pretty happy to be in the middle of a Princess and the Pea craft-a-thon.

Have a good weekend!!!

A new Crafting Book.

This is my absolute and utter favourite sort of thing to find in the mailbox.
Especially when it contains something like this...

With projects like that.

It is so much fun involving the kids on craft projects now - before it always seemed a little bit like work... my expectations have changed a lot along the way and now I find it much easier just going with their flow rather than my guidelines - I know this comes naturally to most people but it took me a little while to get used to it.

And as for me right now, I am going to have a little nap (I only manage to sneak a couple in per week now which is pretty sad for a dedicated napper) and then make some angel wings out of liberty for the rabbity creature above.

On a Monday.

This morning we have been busy with school runs, swimming lessons, reclaiming old pin cushions, pressing the previous evening's knitting efforts and generally tidying up. Fortunately Hugo decided to pitch in and announced he would like to clean the windows. He immediately had a bucket of hot, soapy water and a window washer in his hands and then he happily spent a good half an hour scrubbing the freshly painted swirls that the dogs leave behind with their shaggy coats. I came along after and scraped the water off. I like that...

More sewing to do for Archie's school play but it is all progressing thank goodness. I will give you a peek later on in the week.

Don't Try this at Home.

Archie and Hugo play so well together that I really can just sit on a comfy chair and tune out...

Don't worry too much, Jonno was compelled to do a mock up when he was teaching some archery to the boys.

My Creative Space...

My creative space comes once again in lots of little moments; Buttons in a box.
A spider hanging it's web on the line to dry.
A tree knitting it's own web!!!

Labels reminding me to make stuff to then attach them to.

And Archie doing some fine garden planning. Note the gate to the side and bulbs planted in the corners.
I hope this week your house is teeming with creative spaces too.

For more, hop over to Kirsty's.