About zefiart

Blogger, DIY-er, poodle lover, graphic designer, dog groomer, recycler, artist, wonder woman in my spare time.

a real softie

Posted on June 16, 2013 by zefiart

Last night I finished this little fellow. He’s an echidna. He doesn’t have a name yet and ‘Spike’ just seems too obvious. He’s bigger than the blue teddy, but not as big as Elmer or Kangarat. He’s basically the size of my hand but taller and spikier.

I just had the itch. You know the one which says “I really want to make something”…? After making the blue teddy the other day I just felt (no pun intended) that I just had to make another felt animal. I considered a wombat – too easy…. They’re just a long roundish lump. Cute but rather uninteresting. Though I do love them in all their lumpy if-you-hit-me-I’ll-break-your-car-ness.

I considered an eastern quoll or a bandicoot. I even went as far as printing out images of those for reference.

In the end the echidna won. I’ve always loved the little guys. I used to have one that made a yearly trek past my house in Fentonbury. It drove the dogs absolutely crazy to see him walk along our fenceline, impervious to their scare tactics.

It took ages to do the spikes… I needle felted each individually. It’d have been easier and faster if I’d wet felted those, but then where would the challenge be in that?

I think I’ll hold onto young Spike here and enter him in the next Spindle Tree competition.

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living with dogs

Posted on June 15, 2013 by zefiart

Who can relate to that?

Ours don’t sleep on our bed… not for lack of trying…

I would love to allow the poodles on the bed with us. Except for two things: I hate dirty footprints on the doona cover and they’re just so big. With two of them on the bed, and me and Wayne there’s just not enough room to move.

My favourite thing though remains late weekend mornings in bed, coffee and books, poodles cuddle up with us…

When I’m alone I always let the poodles sleep with me. I love the feeling of them next to me. Its kind of a safe feeling. Comforting. Numbing.

‘Cause you see, Montana is content to sleep on Wayne’s side of the bed, her back to mine, keeping me warm… Romeo prefers to sleep on my legs, pinning me down. Between that and their weight on either side holding the covers down, I can’t move at all.

Meanwhile, there’s been a bad development in the canine behaviour department.

I blame Wayne.

Ok, ok, I don’t blame Wayne, that was just habit.

I blame the pills Montana was on for her skin infection. That’s cleared up thankfully, but while she was on them she was ravenous all the time. She took to following anyone with food, staring at them with that hypnotic gaze she has which says “you. don’t. want. to. eat. all. that… you. want. to. give. it.to. me…”

She’d also started going through the rubbish bag. And taking things off the kitchen bench.

Now, you have to understand. My dogs have NEVER done things like that.

I’ve left food on benches their entire lives. I’ve left things on the table….

I don’t leave things on the coffee table unattended. Turns out the temptation defeated them on that one. But generally, they’ve been such good kids that when the bambi incident happened I was taken by surprise.

Last week Wayne took some roast venison out of the fridge, put it on the bench and carved it up. He did what any dog ~~slave~~ owning person does and doled out scraps to the dogs. Then he then made himself a sandwich, sat at the table and ate it while reading his book.

I was in the office when I heard the blood curdling scream.

Montana had eaten all the venison on the chopping block!

Wayne hadn’t seen it and apparently hadn’t heard a thing!

Wouldn’t have happened to me. I have ultrasonic hearing when it comes to dogs chewing on something they shouldn’t.

Wayne’s taken to calling her a “bambi thieving bitch” since then.

She’s in his bad books. I still love her though. I don’t really like venison.

blue felt teddy

Posted on June 11, 2013 by zefiart

I did it again.

I got bored and I created something.

Maybe I should be bored more often.

This little blue teddy is something I whipped up this afternoon. I’ve done needle felting before but this time I worked with a single needle and smaller.

Blue Teddy is going to be a little gift for one of my nieces in Greece who’s just had her first child. Not as a baby toy but as something to keep.

I hope she likes him!

Now I’m all inspired and want to make more felt animals. Of course its 9pm and I’m tired. Maybe another time.

Its like this cartoon I saw on Facebook the other day:

After all, avoiding work never killed anyone.

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the molasses fiasco of 2013

Posted on June 9, 2013 by zefiart

While I remember, I thought I might share our misadventure with the new truck. You may remember we traded my poor tired little Lancer Wagon in for a newer dual cab ute with canopy a few weeks ago.

It was spotless. All shiny and clean.

Of course that was never going to last. We live up a dirt road and car washes and I have a natural aversion to eachother. However I blame Wayne for the following debacle.

Here are the facts:

We mix molasses into the horse feed cause we own pampered nags.

Molasses is sweet, thick and very sticky.

We were out of molasses and the horses were taking it as a personal insult to be given unflavoured feed.

I stopped in at the feed store after work and picked up a 25 kilo bucket of molasses.

I put it in the back of the ute with 2 bags of horse pellets.

I told Wayne.

Wayne fed the horses that night and the next morning.

I looked into the back of the ute before heading off to work, didn’t see the bucket and presumed he’d taken it out.

That was my first mistake.

I mean, he’d FED the horses.

TWICE.

There was a new bucket of molasses in the truck! I think I can be excused for presuming he’d removed the bucked to add molasses to their feed.

At the end of that day some poor guy chased us on the freeway, hooting his horn and waving madly about something leaking out the back of our car. I guess we were lucky it wasn’t the cops presuming it was blood from a badly wrapped body.

Can you guess?

Yep. 2/3rds of a bucket of molasses. All over the tray and horse feed bags.

And it was dark.

We got home, I got the high pressure water cleaner thingy, connected it to the hot tap and started blasting it out. Every now and then I’d stop and use a portable spotlight to check… ‘Yep, still got molasses in that corner’… ‘oh look, its on the ceiling!’… Needless to say we were both soaked with diluted molasses and the grass got a good long drink of it. Come spring we’ll know if its good fertilizer.

Even the horses were laughing at us.

Or they would have been if they weren’t crying over the waste of so much molasses. If we’d allowed them to they’d have happily licked it clean for us.

Object lessons:

Never leave a bucket of molasses in the back without securing it. It might be sealed but it opens easily!

Never presume ANYTHING.

Well, at least you can’t say life’s boring round here!

lamby – what happens when you get bored and have access to steel wool

Posted on June 9, 2013 by zefiart

Meet Lamby.

The grey sheep of the family.

This is what happens when I’m bored and have access to some wire, steel wool, couple of beads and a rudimentary wire working tool.

Lamby was made using some medium thickness wire to create a frame and legs (and a stubby tail). I then moulded the steel wool around the frame to create the shape. Steel wool works almost like felt – you can mould and shape it and join it relatively easily… but it leaves nasty tiny wire fibres everywhere.

I used bits of very fine wire to wire in Lamby’s eyes and nose and then I finished him off by giving him some extra curls of fine wire in silver and purple highlights. Lamby is nothing if not trendy.

The curly wire bits were threaded through Lamby’s body and act as added strength and support.

No gain without pain though – I stuck a fine bit of wire through my thumb which swelled up and ached for two days. No permanent damage!

I’m pretty pleased with Lamby, even if I do say so myself.

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nostalgia

Posted on June 8, 2013 by zefiart

Showing my age here, but I suddenly had a yearning to hear some very old songs tonight…

I started with some movie themes…

The theme from Exodus. I saw that movie when I was just a kid and that music stuck with me…

The theme from Love Story. Ditto. Nadia’s theme… kind of ruined forever by being the theme for The Young and the Restless… 😦

Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle. I have no idea what movie I heard that song in, but its such a beautiful love song…

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/dO1rMeYnOmM&source=uds

Ok. Being me, I googled it. A TV movie from the seventies called She Lives! I don’t even remember the movie, I just remember the song… and that feeling of intense love. You know, being a teenager and believing in the kind of love Romeo and Juliet had.

Now there’s a movie theme which gives me goosebumps – A Time For Us, What is a Youth. And what a beautiful movie… the Franco Zeffirelli movie, not the later ones. That movie is a classic, with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. There was no way to improve on that!

When I was a “tween” I made a friend who lived across the street, she was older and had a lot of grown up music (ie more grown up than The Osmonds and The Partridge Family). I’d borrow LPs from her. Her records and parties where they used to play the cool ‘rock’ stuff was where my musical education started.

Creedence Clearwater Revival, Doors, Led Zeppellin, Deep Purple…

…Bread. Now there’s a band with lovely love songs… If, Make it with you, Everything I own…

Ahh… Memories…

Nazareth, Love Hurts…

Dancing close with a boy, in the semi darkness in someone’s living room. Swaying to the rhythm, feeling the music in every heartbeat, the yearning, the certainty that only you and Juliet knew about true love. And the feeling that what you were doing was going to get you grounded.

Santana’s Europa…talk about hot slow dancing!

Holding hands. The first kiss…

So here I sit, doing computer stuff and taking a trip down memory lane.

Since I’ve already given away too much about my age, I guess I can confess to the world at large that I had the biggest crush on Donny Osmond.

And David Cassidy.

Come on! This guy was gorgeous! (I think I may still have a crush on him…)

Be still my beating heart!

Is there anything as precious as the innocence of youth? I’d play my Osmonds or Partridge Family albums and dream of kissing the boy on the cover…

Yeah.

Pathetic.

And then, as I was looking for photos of my old heart-throbs I noticed something very disturbing…

Doesn’t this photo of Donny Osmond remind you of someone?

YEP! I’m not the only one to notice it!

I’m feeling a little sick now.

I have to go…

the upcoming trip and my blog

Posted on June 7, 2013 by zefiart

I thought I’d start preparing the blog for my upcoming trip to Greece. Things will be different for a while so I wanted to prepare you for the type of thing you can expect while I’m away.

For one thing you’ll see so many photos like this that you’ll want to strangle me slowly:

You’ll also see plenty like this:

You’ll see photos of scrumptious food, read to eat:

Or food not-quite so ready (note the good use of barbed wire!):

In other words, you’ll see the kind of holiday photos you’d expect to see from a trip to the Greek islands.

But, being me, you’ll also see photos like these – slightly different, interesting and offbeat – rejoicing in colour, texture and garden implements:

I love the old, the worn, the falling down. As much as I hate seeing old buildings deteriorating and falling apart, they make for such beautiful photos:

I love the crumbling stone buildings with their chipped and discoloured whitewash, the faded paint… and the new signs:

There will also be photos of cute, fun examples of DIY and re-purposing, like this old shutter menu board:

Or these gorgeous old metal windchimes:

And of course things like this cute little rocking horse outside a shop on the market street:

You’ve been warned.

Did you know my blog started as a way to keep in touch with everyone when I went to Greece 3 years ago? It was about the holiday, my family, my memories and finding myself. Then the trip was over and I started a new phase in my life, moving to the farm with Wayne and the blog transformed into a diary of our lives on the farm and my growing obsession with DIY, craft and decorating.

In preparation for the trip I’ve changed my blog header… That’s an old door I photographed on my last trip. Love those old door latches, they are so Paros to me. I really must see if I can find some to bring back.

Man… I hope I find all kinds of goodies to bring back.

I’m gonna need a bigger ~~boat~~ suitcase.

This trip I’ll probably share photos and stories like I did last time, but I’ll also be keeping a keen eye out for the type of things I’ve come to love so much: chippy paint, old doors and windows, latches, locks and handles, old tools…

And hopefully beg, borrow and ~~steal~~ buy as much stuff as I can ~~carry~~ ~~justify~~ afford to bring back.

So, are you with me? Are you up to meeting my wonderful, crazy, funny family?

If you are, then stay tuned!

Only a couple more weeks before I go!

a quick pinboard

Posted on June 7, 2013 by zefiart

Yes. I’m getting ready for a trip. I’m drowning in grooming appointments, chores, housework (which I’ve successfully avoided so far) and all manner of things hanging over my head with a deadline of June 23.

Yet I can’t help myself.

This morning, between grooming appointments, I finished this pinboard for Wayne’s office space. I don’t know if you remember I moved Wayne’s office into the living room. Some might call it banishment, but I call it relocating him to a space more likely to be used!

(Btw, it looks nothing like in the photos on that post. Its now got a more relaxed look. Some might call it ‘lived in’… I call it plain messy.)

When we first moved to the farm we thought we’d share the office, but Wayne never used it. He’d use the kitchen table… which got old really fast, let me tell you! So I decided I’d create an office space for him in the living room where he could be warm (near the heater), see out through the window to the front yard, watch TV and be near his favourite reading chair. Everything close at hand.

One of the things I used to have in the real office was a bulletin board. I’ve always had bulletin boards in my office no matter where I lived. They’re so handy. I had one in the office here till I bought my gorgeous antique cabinet and had to remove it. It was sitting in the casita for ages. I decided to use about half of it to make Wayne a smaller pinboard for his office space since he really loves having one. The rest of it I think I’ll put up in the grooming room to pin up photos of customer dogs.

I had this old frame but it was an unattractive colour so I sprayed it white. I had considered repainting the pinboard but I left it. Its the same colour as the feature wall at the other end of the living room so its ok. Dark grey. You won’t see much of it once Wayne pins everything on it.

I think its his entire filing system…

Anyway, I found the bulletin board material easy to cut with a jigsaw, then I used my staple gun to hold it into the frame. I reinforced it with some wire, and voila!

Meanwhile I wanted something I could put pins in for him. Something cute but big enough for him to get his big manly fingers in easily…

This little old tin belongs to Wayne, no idea where he got it, but its now back in his space, put to good use.

There. One last (??) craft project before my trip.

We’ll see… Maybe the last…

avoiding housework

Posted on June 6, 2013 by zefiart

What can I say?

I’ve had 6 days off work and I’ve successfully resisted the urge to do housework every single day!

I’m so proud of myself.

hmph.

The house is a mess. Not helped by the smoked oyster bath Wayne just gave the hallway when he tripped over Barney while carrying a snack to the living room.

So, what have I been doing you ask?

Well, I’ve been busy. Doing STUFF.

I did some washing. AND brought it in. Mom would be so proud…*

Sorted out things that needed sorting before my trip to Greece. Writing lists of things I need to organise before I go and then trying to organise them. Making piles of clothes to take or not take with me on the trip. Reading Game of Thrones book 3 part 2.

(Addictive… Did I mention I got a Kindle for the trip? Love it!)

Caring for the poodles who both decided to get some kind of pyoderma at the same time, necessitating trips to the vet and multiple pills, washing poodle areas with Malaseb and other indignities.

Had to take the new car in for a small fix to the seatlbelts (under warranty).

Had to take myself into the doctor for “women’s complaints”…

I always wondered about that expression… does complaining about men qualify?

One thing I haven’t done (well, besides housework), is ride Cas. So much for my new horse!

Tomorrow all three horses get their hooves trimmed and Wayne has promised me that if he finishes his chores we’ll go riding on the weekend.

I’m not holding my breath. I’ve seen his list of chores. And I did not add a single item to it!

I won’t ride alone.

Ok, I would ride alone but I can’t saddle her alone. I’m just not strong enough to do up a girth. With my dodgey right arm/wrist there’s no way I can tighten up a girth enough so that when I put one foot in the stirrup the saddle stays put. If I tried it the saddle would slip right under her very round belly and deposit me on the ground.

I know a lot of people who’d pay to see that… and come to think of it, I could use the money. I have an overseas trip coming up you know!

* That’s an ‘in joke’ which my followers from the early days will recognise as relating to a story from my last trip to Greece. Which brings up another point… what will happen to the blog while I’m overseas?

Well… I’ll continue posting, but the posts will probably be a lot more about the trip, my experiences, family and other funny stories than about all the wierd and wonderful things I do and make. I plan to include a whole lot more photos that relate to what the blog has evolved into: thrifting, rustic stuff, rust, old stuff, handmade stuff, etc. However I’ll also include a ton of photos of blue sparkly waters, sandy beaches and things to make you all sick with envy.

You’re welcome.

milk churn photo display

Posted on May 31, 2013 by zefiart

Ever since I took the doors off the two overhead cupboards in the kitchen I’ve liked my kitchen a whole lot more.

I’ve finally got somewhere to display some of my pretty things, and some of my collections.

The little vignette below includes one of my scales, the lid off a small milk churn, 2 flower frogs and other old metal objects in the form of a cast iron flying pig and an old light switch.

I got the milk churn lid at the Shabby Market I took part in a while ago, and have had it sitting on one shelf or another for a long time, waiting to for it to speak to me and tell me what it wants to do.

Yesterday it finally spoke and said “I want to hold a photo”.

Well at the time I didn’t have any photos handy and really didn’t feel like printing one out. I wanted to test it out NOW.

You know how it goes…. Nothing like the present. Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today… I pray for patience, but I want it now…

I took the photo of Wayne and Ben which I just love, man and horse communicating quietly.

I got a small magnet and put it behind the photo. It worked! The magnet holds the photo onto the handle. Perfect.

Who needs frames when you can do things like this? Much funner!

junk4joy

painting, recycling, creating and living on a greek island

Author Archives: zefiart